A court has blocked a "click to cancel" rule that would have made it easier to end unwanted memberships and subscriptions. The rule, introduced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), would have made canceling as easy as signing up in the first ... place, meaning a simple website button in some cases. The rule was scheduled to take effect on July 14, 2025, but was blocked by a federal appeals court. The block wasn't based on the measures themselves, but rather the procedural technicalities of the way the FTC made the rule. Auto-Renewals Restricted Officially titled the Negative Opinion Rule, the ... (view more)
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More than two million Chrome and Edge users installed extensions that later turned into malware. The 18 extensions all delivered their advertised functionality but some unwanted bonus features. Extensions (known as add-ons in Edge) are a third-party ... tool for web browsers that interact with the browser to bring additional features. Most have perfectly legitimate uses, for example sending the text of a long article on a web page to the user's Kindle e-reader, or blocking ads. Because the tools have varying levels of access to a user's browser and online activity, security is a must. That's why ... (view more)
A campaign group want users to sign a petition calling on Microsoft to automatically extend support for Windows 10. It says existing plans where users can sign up to an extra year of support cheaply or free of charge don't go far enough. The ... petition is the work of the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), which describes itself as "an advocate for consumers, advancing solutions to problems that affect our health, our safety and our wellbeing." It commonly campaigns on tech topics including the "right to repair" as a way to benefit consumers while reducing environmental waste. Millions Of ... (view more)
In today's main article, we talked about the need for continuing Windows 10 support because the vast majority of PC's today Windows 11 requires TPM (Trusted Platform Module) but only newer PCs (circa >2018) have it. I've always wondered why a ... tech company couldn't simply create a USB-based TPM device so that older machines would be able to meet the requirements of Windows 11, so I decided to ask ChatGPT some questions. I thought the answers were fascinating, so I decided to put together a Q&A style article. Here's a breakdown of those questions in case you want to skip right to the ... (view more)
Windows 11 has finally become more popular than Windows 10 according to one estimate. But there's still a serious amount of work to do to persuade people to upgrade before Windows 10's "end of life" this October. The figures come from Statcounter, ... which says that 51.77 percent of Windows computers are now running Windows 11, ahead of Windows 10 on 45.02 percent. The remaining three percent are running even older systems, including a tiny but measurable user base for Windows XP. (Source: statcounter.com ) Statcounter is a company that helps websites measure and analyze their traffic, so its ... (view more)
A boy who started hunting computer bugs aged 13 has been dubbed Microsoft's youngest security researcher. 'Dylan' is the reason the company lowered its minimum age for officially reporting security vulnerabilities. Everything we know about the boy ... comes from a Microsoft report, which notes he is currently in his junior year at high school. Because of his age, it appears reporters don't consider it appropriate to try to independently verify any of the details. (Source: microsoft.com ) According to Microsoft, Dylan was a tech enthusiast for a young age, but became more interested in security ... (view more)
A tech enthusiast has built a prototype of a real-world ad-blocker. It involves a pair of "smart glasses" which detect and block out billboards, newspaper ads and other promotional material. It's the work of Stijn Spanhvove, who explained on social ... media site X that "I've been building an XR app for a real-world ad blocker using Snap @Spectacles. It uses Gemini to detect and block ads in the environment. It's still early and experimental, but it's exciting to imagine a future where you control the physical content you see." (Source: x.com ) The video shows the user's view as they walk round a ... (view more)
Microsoft has announced Windows 10 users won't have to pay for updates for the first year after its "end of life". It's the most significant move yet away from a potential security nightmare. This October will still be the official point at which ... Microsoft no longer offers any updates. With previous systems, that meant a complete end to security updates for consumers, with businesses able to pay a significant fee (doubling every year) to get the patches through a three-year Extended Security Updates program. Microsoft had already announced that for the first time, consumers would be eligible ... (view more)
An AI company acted lawfully by training its models on published books without the author's consent, a judge has ruled. But Anthropic will be on the hook for downloading more than seven million pirated books to use in the training data. The case was ... brought by three authors who said Anthropic had breached their copyright by adding the text of their books to a training database for Claude. That's a large language model (LLM), which works a little like autocorrect on a phone's texting tool. The difference, other than the speed and power, is that the LLM doesn't predict words based on one person ... (view more)
Microsoft has started public testing on a range of new Windows 11 features. They deal with a nagging display annoyance, the controversial Recall technology, and touchscreen interfaces. The changes have been unveiled in the Dev Channel. That's one of ... four options for people who join the Windows Insider program and is the one where most new features roll out to the public for the first time. If something's in the Dev Channel, Microsoft usually intends to make it part of Windows but may withdraw it if the testing goes badly. The most useful change for the average user is arguably a minor ... (view more)
A collection of 16 billion login credentials has been discovered by security researchers. Despite the huge number, the researcher say the real problem is just how commonly records appear online. The discovery was made by Cybernews which assigned ... researchers to trawl as many online locations as possible to discover records. They found 30 datasets, of which just one had been widely known about and reported in the media. (Source: cybernews.com ) The datasets ranged from one of "just" 16 million records to one, apparently made up of details of Portuguese speakers, which had 3.5 billion records. ... (view more)
Microsoft is to release a tool to make it easier to move to a new computer when upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11. It removes a minor headache but won't necessarily overcome the main reasons people are passing on the upgrade. With some recent ... estimates saying the majority of Windows PCs are still running Windows 10, time is running out for the end-of-life deadline in October. After that, Windows 10 will get no new features and no free security patches. Businesses can pay for security patches for three more years (with the price doubling each year), while consumers can pay $30 for one ... (view more)
Microsoft will no longer let users "sign in" with their face in a darkened room. It's a deliberate choice of security over convenience. The change affects the Windows Hello feature that lets users sign into their Windows device using something other ... than a password. This includes a PIN (which can only work on a specific device) or biometric logins such as a fingerprint or facial recognition. One lesser-known limitation is that an ordinary webcam won't work for the feature. Instead, it must have an infrared capability that means it has depth perception. This effectively means it can scan a ... (view more)
Facebook and Instagram owner Meta has been accused of tracking users even when they are using VPNs or incognito mode. They have now stopped using a technique that may have breached Google's rules for Android apps, raising serious questions about how ... far companies are willing to go to bypass privacy controls. The controversial activity was discovered by computer scientists from Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands. Their findings revealed that both Meta and Russian search engine Yandex used a similar method to monitor users without consent, even when standard privacy measures were in place. ... (view more)
Android 16 has been released much earlier than expected. Although it has some notable new features, it's biggest design overhaul won't be arriving till September. Normally a new Android release is expected in August or September. Google hasn't ... officially said why version 16 is earlier, other than that it "ensures you get the latest updates as soon as possible on your devices." One theory is that Google wants to give a boost to sales of Android phones by letting manufacturers start preloading the system onto new handsets for sale in the fall. As usual with Android, the new version is debuting ... (view more)
Users of Microsoft Authenticator have just a few weeks to move passwords away from the tool. From August, 2025, passwords will be inaccessible and in some cases deleted. Microsoft Authenticator is an app with a range of security features. A key one ... is as a two-factor authentication tool for websites. In simple terms, the website asks Microsoft to verify somebody's identity, the users does so in the app (for example with a fingerprint scan), and then Microsoft confirms the user is who they say there are. This means the website doesn't have to store login details for the user. Authenticator ... (view more)
The governor of Texas has signed a law that means app stores must verify user ages. Governor Greg Abbott had reportedly been privately urged by Apple chief Tim Cook to veto the bill. Google, the other major company directly affected by the law, also ... publicly opposed the measures. It follows a similar law passing in Utah. The new law is known as the Texas App Store Accountability Act. It means app stores will need to verify the age of users and then tell app developers which of four age groups they fall into: child, young teenager, older teenagers or adult. The idea is that app developers ... (view more)
Are you being sextorted? Need real answers - fast? Contact me now for 1-on-1 assistance. I've worked on over 1,000+ sextortion cases since 2019 and know this scam inside and out, including the tried-and-tested strategies for preventing your ... exposure. Our business has been online for 24 years, and is BBB A+ Accredited with ZERO complaints - ever. That track record speaks for itself. If you're ready to take action, reach out to me now . Otherwise, keep reading - this guide will show you exactly what's happening and what to do (and what not to do) next. Infopackets Reader Adam G. writes: "Dear ... (view more)
Breaking encryption using quantum computing could be 20 times easier than previously thought. It's not happening any time soon, but the point where computer security needs an overhaul may be earlier than expected. Most computer encryption today is ... based on creating an encryption key by multiplying two large prime numbers together. The beauty and simplicity is that doing this is very simple, but reversing the process to work out what the two numbers originally were is incredibly complex. While a computer can eventually figure it out, the idea is that it would take so long (potentially years or ... (view more)
Verizon has asked to be let out of legal commitments to unlock phones within 60 days, allowing anyone with a new Verizon phone to take it to another carrier. The rules currently say that if somebody buys a phone that's locked to a particular network ... provider, they have the right to get it unlocked after six months, However, Verizon has made two legal commitments to follow a 60-day limit instead. One commitment was made as part of the deal when it bought the rights to broadcast mobile data at a particular frequency (the 700 MHz spectrum). The other was as a condition of getting regulatory ... (view more)
Microsoft has issued an emergency fix and guidelines after a Windows 10 update caused major problems for some users. It meant some machines went into an inescapable reboot loop. The issue came with May's monthly security update, which has the ... reference code KB5058379. It affected users who have an Intel vPro processor with a feature called Intel Trusted Execution Technology enabled. An Intel vPro processor is mainly aimed at small business users as it includes key security and network management capabilities. The Trusted Execution Technology feature is designed to secure computer hardware to ... (view more)
Around 5.7 million files including resumes were unintentionally exposed by a recruitment company according to security researchers. The breach could put jobseekers at risk for a range of scams. Cybernews says it spotted the files accessible and ... unprotected online. They came from HireClick, a recruitment company that describes itself as "The Most Affordable and Effective Hiring System on the Planet." The files included resumes with full contact details for jobseekers along with details of their current and past employment. Although details such as full names, addresses, phone numbers and email ... (view more)
If you're caught up in a Venmo sextortion trap and are desperate for a way out - you're not alone, and this in-depth, Q&A article is for you. If you are in full-on panic and need help now, you can contact me here for assistance . Otherwise, keep ... reading! Infopackets Reader Sanjay B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I paid someone on Venmo and now they're blackmailing me . Here's my story: a few days ago I met a woman on Adult Friend Finder claiming to be local to me. We chatted casually for a couple of days, but then moved to WhatsApp for privacy. As soon as I did, the tone changed; she was ... (view more)
The makers of the controversial Pegasus spyware have been ordered to pay $167.25 million for exploiting a bug in WhatsApp. The company that makes Pegasus markets it as a crime fighting tool for government agencies. Israeli based NSO developed ... Pegasus to take advantage of a range of bugs through "zero-click" attacks that makes it possible to monitor somebody's phone without requiring any action from victim (such as clicking on a link or opening a phone). The software has proven controversial despite NSO's claims that it only makes it available for legitimate government surveillance. Critics ... (view more)
Infopackets Reader Bob V. writes: " Dear Dennis, Recently, I received an email from Mozilla indicating the discontinuing of Mozilla Pocket. I have used Mozilla Pocket for several years and find it quite useful. Can you suggest an useful alternative ... to Pocket? Thanks, in advance, Bob. " My response: Sure - I'm happy to assist. For those unaware, Mozilla Pocket is (or was) a "read-it-later" app developed by Mozilla (makes of Firefox and Thunderbird) that allowed users to save online content such as articles, videos, and web pages to be viewed later in a clean, distraction-free format. In this ... (view more)
Microsoft has made a small concession in plans to effectively kill off Windows 10 later this year. However, continuing to use the system still looks likely to be a risky proposition . Related: What Happens When Windows 10 Reaches End of Life? No ... Service Packs For Windows 10; Support ends 2025 Win10 End-of-Life has Major Security Implications Company Promises to Patch Win10 After End of Life Windows 10 End of Life: October, 2025 On October 25 this year, Windows 10 reaches its official end of support date, meaning Microsoft will no longer issue any security patches to most users. That's not a ... (view more)
Infopackets Reader Sam G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I came across your website and read two of your most recent articles: Spanish Sexting Scam Turns into WhatsApp Blackmail and Sextorted on ThaiFriendly? Read This Before You Pay - thanks - these ... articles were very insightful. Now for my issue. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but until last week I had never even heard of ' sextortion .' I thought I was just chatting with someone new online - it started harmlessly enough. We flirted a little, exchanged some pictures , and then she casually asked me to send some money her way to help pay for ... (view more)
Microsoft has confirmed several changes to the Windows 11 Start menu. They include more space and better support for connected phones. The changes had been in testing for several weeks but have now been officially announced. They will be available ... to members of the Windows Insider program first and then roll out to all users. That means Microsoft has definitely decided to make the changes and its now just a case of picking up any late bugs before the full release. (Source: windows.com ) The most notable change is to the size of the Start menu, which will now be both taller (taking up most of ... (view more)
Windows 11 will soon have an AI tool that automatically switches user settings to improve usability. There will also be an update to the existing "Click to Do" tools. The features will initially be available on Copilot+ PCs. To clarify, Copilot is ... Microsoft's name for a series of AI powered tools, available on most Windows computers. Meanwhile Copilot+ is the name of a specific hardware specification that manufacturers can use in branding. It requires an extremely fast processor dedicated to AI operations. Microsoft has already added several Windows features that only work on Copilot+ ... (view more)
Microsoft has finally shut down its once-revolutionary voice and video chat service, Skype, marking the end of a 22-year era in digital communication. Launched in 2003, Skype played a pioneering role in bringing voice over IP (VOIP) technology into ... the mainstream, allowing people across the globe to connect for free or at extremely low cost. But in recent years, usage had fallen dramatically, and now the platform has officially been retired. Skype History Skype's journey began as an independent project created by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, the same duo behind the file-sharing platform ...<a href="/news/11554/microsoft-shuts-down-skype" class="more-link">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 30 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).
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 30 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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