Google's next flagship phone will have a built-in thermometer if a leaked video is anything to go by. Right now, nobody really knows why. The leaked video appeared on the 91mobiles site and appears to show the thermometer sensor placed just below ... the camera flash. It comes from Kuba Wojciechowski, a Twitter user who regularly shares leaked images of upcoming devices and describes himself as "a slight nuisance to tech companies." (Source: 91mobiles.com ) Google hasn't commented on the legitimacy of the video. However, 91mobiles says Google forced it to take down the video from YouTube by ... (view more)
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Facebook's parent company Meta has been fined more than a billion dollars for failing to protect user data. The case involves the way Facebook transfers customer data between Europe and the United States. Under the European Union's privacy rules, ... businesses are restricted in the way they transfer personal data to non-EU countries. In principle this can only happen when the non-EU country has laws that offer a similar level of privacy data protection. Some counties have a "data adequacy" agreement with the EU, meaning the country's privacy rules are officially classed as strong enough. In ... (view more)
A data recovery firm says it found 3.1 million "deleted" files on a second-hand hard drive. It also found 35 percent of drives had readily-restorable files. The experiment by Secure Data Recovery comes with an obvious warning. It's a company that ... helps people recover deleted or corrupted files from their own drives, so it has an interest in highlighting that such recovery is possible. That said, in this experiment conducted for Tech Radar, the company only tackled those drives where recovering data proved a straightforward task. (Source: techradar.com ) This involved buying 100 hard drives, ... (view more)
Microsoft is to forcibly upgrade computers running a version of Windows 10 that's about to stop being supported. It's billed as a way to keep users "protected and productive." The update will cover consumer devices plus "non-managed business ... devices" running Windows 10 version 21H2. That was the version with the major feature update in the second half of 2021. (Source: theregister.com ) The move should only affect users who have switched off automatic updates, which is why the forced update won't be to everyone's taste. The chances are that many people in this position have deliberately ... (view more)
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may put a temporary ban on any new products from Facebook's parent company, Meta. It could also ban Facebook from making any money from data involving children. The FTC says "Facebook has repeatedly violated its ... privacy promises." Those promises came in a 2020 agreement when Facebook promised to change its behavior. That agreement, which included a $5 billion civil penalty, came after Facebook allegedly breached the terms of a previous agreement from way back in 2012. (Source: ftc.gov ) Kids Could Chat to Strangers According to the FTC, an independent ... (view more)
Google is testing a Chrome feature that could heavily reduce the time users spend completing CAPTCHA tests. The tests are designed to reduce spam and other automated mischief but can irritate genuine human users. CAPTCHA stands for "Completely ... Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart". It's designed to use a test that's relatively simple for a human to do, but difficult for a computer. Often such tests take advantage of the fact that humans are better at recognizing images and patterns, for example spotting pictures with varying backgrounds that contain a bicycle. Other ... (view more)
An FBI branch has warned people not to use free USB charging points as they could spread malware. The agency says it's safer to use a charger plug and power outlet. However, the FCC notes that while such attacks are technically possible, there's no ... evidence of it actually happening. The FBI Denver Officer posted on Twitter: "Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers. Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices. Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead." The ... (view more)
Google is set to release its first foldable smartphone dubbed the "Pixel Fold" scheduled for May 10th. According to reports, Google has been working on a foldable phone for years. The Pixel Fold is expected to take the form of a book-style foldable ... with two screens, resembling the squarish shape of Oppo's foldable phone, the Find N. Pixel Fold: Camera According to 9to5Google, the Pixel Fold will have two front-facing 8-megapixel lenses, one presumably on the cover and one for the interiors, as well as a 12-megapixel rear camera. The main sensor is expected to be a step down from the Pixel 6 ... (view more)
A company that manipulated Amazon listings to deceive customers has been fined $600,000. It's the first time the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has punished a business for "review hijacking." The Bountiful Company sells a range of nutritional ... supplements. According to the FTC it listed more than 1,000 products on Amazon. (Source: ftc.gov ) One of the tactics it used took advantage of the way Amazon groups "variation" products. This is meant to cover situations such as an identical t-shirt that's available in multiple colors, or a medicine that's available in different size bottles. ... (view more)
A startup company called Energy Vault is developing a system that uses gravity to store renewable energy generated by wind and solar panels. The system works by hoisting hundreds of large 24-ton bricks made of compressed dirt up the side of a ... building. It hoists the gigantic brick batteries using energy previously generated by solar panels or wind turbines, then stores them inside the structure. (Source: cnet.com ) When power is needed, the bricks are lowered, spinning electrical power generators in the process. The bricks are abundant and cheap to make, and replace the need to purchase ... (view more)
Quantum computers could produce genuinely random numbers according to new research. It could boost security, an ironic effect given fears over the ways cyber criminals could use quantum computing. In extremely simplified terms, a quantum computer ... uses quantum physics in which something can exist in more than one state at a time. That's in contrast to traditional computing where data is stored in bits that represent either a 0 or a 1 at any given time. To date, the main claimed advantage of quantum computing has been processing speed. The same "bit" representing multiple states removes a ... (view more)
Apple has patented a folding smartphone that would automatically close up when dropped in an attempt to protect the screen. Several manufacturers of high-end smartphones already offer folding display screens. The idea is to allow a much larger ... screen size without being too bulky for a pocket. Analysts note one of the reasons Apple has yet to make a folding iPhone is fears that folding screens are more vulnerable to cracking, particularly when dropped. It's possible it may have intentionally waited for other manufacturers to lead the way so that it can then see such problems with a new ... (view more)
Google has warned users of some Android handsets to turn off some voice call features. A series of vulnerabilities could mean attackers can compromise a handset just by knowing its phone number. The problem involves four vulnerabilities in a ... Samsung-made component called an Exynos chipset. It's used for voice calls made over mobile data rather than the voice network. At the time of writing, Google says the affected products include phones made by Samsung (A04, A12, A13, A21s, A33, A53, A71, M12, M13, M33, S22), Google itself (Pixel 6 and 7) and Vivo (S6, S15, S16, X30, X60, X70) along with ... (view more)
Amazon has unveiled home devices for receiving its satellite broadband service. It hopes to offer service by late next year but hasn't yet revealed pricing. Satellite Internet is one of the major ways tech firms are attempting to solve the problem ... of high-speed Internet access in rural areas. Installing fiber cable there doesn't usually make financial sense to profit-driven businesses because there aren't enough potential customers to justify the cost of installing it and/or paying for the parts to install it in non-densely populated areas. Such locations are also often outside the range of ... (view more)
Google says it is set to integrate new conversational AI features into its search engine. The move comes as advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology could enhance the capabilities of Google's search engine significantly. Google CEO Sundar ... Pichai has confirmed that users would be able to ask questions to Google and engage with large language models (LLMs) in the context of search. (Source: cnet.com ) Bringing AI chat to Google Search would make the technology accessible to a wider audience, taking it from the realm of experimental project to everyday tool used to find information. ... (view more)
Is it possible to reverse aging in human beings - or at least, slow down the aging process? American entrepreneur and investor Bryan Johnson seems to think so. Johnson is the founder of Kernel, a startup that develops brain-machine interfaces and ... other neuroscience technologies. Prior to founding Kernel, he founded Braintree, a payments company that was later acquired by PayPal for $800 million. $2 Million Regimen Consists of Diet, Exercise and Rigorous Testing Johnson recently made headlines for his unusual approach to aging, which involves adhering to a strict diet and exercise regimen, as ... (view more)
A recent report from StatCounter (March, 2023) suggests that Windows 11 is running on one out of every five Windows PCs (approximately 20 percent). Windows 11 has experienced a steady growth rate, increasing its market share from 19.13% to 20.94%, ... gaining 1.81 percentage points in March, 2023. While Windows 10 also saw an increase, it was not as significant as in February 2023 when Microsoft stopped support for Windows 7 and 8.1. Despite the increase in Windows 10's market share, Windows 11's growth rate indicates that users are more interested in the newer operating system. These numbers may ... (view more)
Fifty years ago, on April 3, 1973, Martin Cooper, an engineer at Motorola, made the world's first cellular phone call. Back then, making a phone call from a mobile device was a major achievement - but now, smartphones have become an indispensable ... part of our daily lives. We use them not only to make calls, but also to stream movies, play games, and take professional-level photos. However, despite the advancements in technology, the basic shape and form of the smartphone has remained the same for over a decade. To stay relevant in the ever-evolving smartphone market, Motorola, along with other ... (view more)
A notorious botnet that spreads malware through fake emails is back in action. Emotet has returned with some new tactics to try to bypass security checks. Emotet had already gained a reputation for being (comparatively) successful at fooling humans ... and computers alike. Its most notable characteristic was that it not only used messages that appeared to come from a trusted contact, but that it addressed the recipient by name and even appeared to be a reply to a previous genuine message. Most commonly, Emotet sends malware through Microsoft Word documents with macros. These are now disabled by ... (view more)
An investigation has revealed the tactics of a company that offers to hide negative information about clients on the Internet. A newspaper has accused Eliminalia of using "unethical or deceptive methods" to achieve its goals, sometimes helping ... serious criminals. The company says its main approach is taking advantage of the European Union's "right to be forgotten". This gives people the right to ask websites to remove information that is inaccurate or no longer relevant. The site doesn't have to comply but may have to justify a refusal later on. While the law is theoretically about websites ... (view more)
Governments in 35 countries imposed complete blackouts of the Internet at some point in 2022 according to a new report. It's the highest figure in the seven years that "digital rights group" Access Now has been compiling data. Perhaps surprisingly, ... China only had one Internet shutdown, while Russia had just two. That's slightly misleading as Russian forces imposed 22 shutdowns in parts of Ukraine during the ongoing war. (Source: accessnow.org ) The country with the most blackouts (for the fifth straight year) was India, with 84. That's a hugely controversial topic as officials say the ... (view more)
Netflix has rejected proposals that would help fund network infrastructure by companies responsible for large amounts of Internet traffic. It says the European idea would effectively mean customers paying twice for the same technology. Officials in ... Europe are currently consulting on the proposals. The idea is that companies which deliver the most traffic would pay a tax with the proceeds going towards projects to expand and improve Internet connections. The officials argue that companies such as Netflix benefit from the wide availability of Internet connections, but don't currently contribute ... (view more)
Human brain cells could power computers of the future, according to a new study. Researchers say they've already seen a bunch of brain cells in a petri dish learn to play the old video game Pong. The bizarre-sounding concept already has a name: ... organoid intelligence, or OI for short. It's already prompted questions about the ethics involved. While the concept sounds pretty disturbing, the reality wouldn't be quite as unsettling as it might seem. There's no suggestion we'll be sticking human skulls inside the desktop computer in our living room. Instead, the idea is that brain cells, generated ... (view more)
A bizarre court ruling means that emojis can legally count as financial advice. It's a side effect of the latest case involving regulation of digital assets. The case centers on non fungible tokens, also known as NFTs. In short, an NFT is something ... that only exists digitally, can be bought and sold, and the ownership of which is recorded on a public ledger called a blockchain - similar to how bitcoin operates. In this case, the NFTs were a limited edition collection of digital clips of famous basketball moments. The effect was much the same as owning a rare trading basketball card except ... (view more)
Nokia has launched an Android phone specifically designed to be repairable by the user. The G22 handset was made in cooperation with spare parts and repair site iFixit. Being unable to easily repair a handset (or even to get a third party expert to ... do it) has been one of the biggest frustrations for many phone owners. It often means having to replace an entire handset because a single component has failed, causing both financial and environmental damage. While some manufacturers have made phones with easily replaceable components, they tend to be less well-known brands and carry a premium ... (view more)
Microsoft has experimented with one of its most audacious attempts yet to persuade users to prefer the Edge browser over Google Chrome. It appears the plan, which effectively involved full-size banner "ads" on the Chrome website, will not proceed ... after the tests. Technically speaking, the Microsoft Edge browser is built using "Chromium" code (which is open source), which is the exact same code that Google's Chrome browser uses. The only difference between Edge and Chrome is that Edge has been customized with its own set of unique features and is branded as being Microsoft Edge. That ... (view more)
Chrome users will soon have two new modes that could significantly increase performance and battery life. The Energy Saver and Energy Saver modes are the first major changes since users of Windows 8 and earlier editions lost access to Chrome ... updates. While Google probably won't acknowledge things quite so bluntly, the new modes are an attempt to solve one of the most frequent complaints about the widely used browser. Many users find having too many tabs open at once means Chrome quickly starts using a lot of system memory. This can slow performance and even increase battery use on laptops. ( ... (view more)
Samsung's flagship phone is getting special protection against a particularly nasty form of mobile malware. It combats zero-click attacks, which can steal data or compromise a handset without needing any action by the user. The hacking technique ... hasn't been widely seen in real-world attacks on Android phones, though Samsung claims it has worked on Apple devices. Samsung clearly believes it's just a matter of time before attackers find a vulnerability that would make such an attack almost irresistible. The company explains that a zero-click attack would exploit such a vulnerability by sending ... (view more)
The Windows 11 taskbar will soon have a quick option to kill a task or process. It's something users currently need to do by opening Task Manager. The precise terminology of stopping Windows doing something has changed over the years, with terms ... including programs, applications, tasks and processes. The actual distinctions don't really matter that much to the average user, but they include whether the issue is with Windows itself or an application. They also depend on whether the user is trying to stop an entire application or simply one of multiple things it is doing, such as running ... (view more)
Microsoft and Google have both put plenty of effort into artificial intelligence in recent months. After an initial wow factor, they've been plagued with a host of problems. Interest in AI-text shot up with the public release of ChatGPT, a tool that ... can not only simulate conversations with the user and answer questions, but also write articles and other text in a variety of styles. While it appears extremely clever, it's effectively an extremely souped-up version of the auto-predict feature many phones offer when sending text messages. ChatGPT is produced by an independent developer called ... (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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