Facebook is to ban ads from sites that habitually share bogus 'news' stories. The ban will apply even if the ads themselves don't point to the false stories. It's no secret that Facebook is one of the biggest sources of traffic for news sites, both ... legitimate outlets and those which deliberately run tantalizing but misleading, or outright false stories. The latter sites thrive on people sharing the bogus stories on social media sites, thus bringing more visitor and bumping up ad revenue. However, some sites also buy Facebook advertising as a way to attract visitors who will then share the ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader William C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I'm have a problem with my sound after the latest Windows Update in Windows 10 (version 15063.540). If I use System Restore to roll back the sysetm (which then uninstalls the update), my sound ... works perfectly fine. In my Device Manager I have: a 'High Definition Audio Device' with yellow exclamation point warning, and two 'Realtek High Definition Audio Device' with no warning. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the Realtek audio drivers to no avail - the sound will simply not work! My system is connected to a TV via HDMI cable. If I use ... (view more)

A company selling spy software encouraged parents to use its tools to discover if their son was gay. It's now removed the article in question. Fireworld offers software that tracks use of a computer. It's designed to be installed by anyone with ... physical access to the computer, who then wants to track what somebody else is doing with it. The software treads a thin line under French law, which makes it illegal to install spyware (software that spies) on somebody else's computer. Fireworld warns customers to make sure they are acting legally, and there's at least an argument that it's legitimate ... (view more)

Hackers could use your computer to literally make money. That's thanks to an unusual malware attack that doesn't involve any files, making it harder to detect. The "Coinminer malware" takes advantage of a Windows and browser bug nicknamed Eternal ... Blue. That's the same bug that was exploited in several high-profile ransomware attacks recently . While Microsoft has issued updates, it seems some users haven't installed the security patches. Malware Runs Inside Memory One big problem with the Coinminer malware is that it works in the computer's memory, rather than as ... (view more)

A company that protects websites from online attacks has stopped serving a far right website. But the man who made the decision says he feels uneasy about making such decisions. Cloudflare is designed to protect against denial of service attacks, in ... which people try to bring down a website by flooding it with bogus requests until it's inaccessible to legitimate traffic by real people. It's a tactic often used by hacker groups protesting against the organizations running the site, though it's also been used as a form of cyberwarfare. To combat such attacks, data going to and from ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader John B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am running Windows 10 and every once in a while I receive a popup notification from ' Smart System Care ' that I have errors on my PC and I need to remove them. It then says that if I want to ... remove the problem I have to pay money. I realize this program is most likely a scam, and I tried to remove it from my system but it is nowhere to be found. I have researched the problem using Google however there are so many posts and many steps, and it seems very convoluted. Can you please help? " My response: I asked John if he would like me to ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Susan S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just read your article ' How to Fix: Constant Spinning Cursor (Circle) in Windows ' - I have a similar problem! I own an Asus x551 laptop with Windows 10. The mouse pointer constantly spins with a ... blue circle every other second, and I can't figure out why this is happening. I thought perhaps I had a virus, so I formatted the computer - but it did nothing to stop the spinning blue circle. I am going crazy. Can you help? " My response: I asked Susan if she would like me to connect to her machine using my remote desktop service and she agreed ... (view more)

Microsoft has agreed to change the way it handles rival security products in Windows. The changes follow a formal complaint that's now been withdrawn by Kaspersky Labs . Kaspersky had twice made official protests over Windows 10. The first was to ... Russian anti-monopoly regulators and led to Microsoft changing the wording on a message encouraging users to remove third-party software in favor of Windows Defender. A follow-up complaint to the European Commission covered several points including Microsoft making it difficult for security firms to tell users when their licensed had expired; not ... (view more)

Apple stands accused of failing to enable a potentially life-saving iPhone technology. Advanced Mobile Location (AML), already used in Android handsets, lets emergency services staff know precisely where a caller is located. The accusation comes ... from the European Emergency Number Association (EENA), which coordinates the European equivalent of 911 call technology. It already works with Google on AML, which is credited with saving multiple lives. The idea of AML is that it doesn't require any special action on behalf of the user: there's no need to change settings or install dedicated ... (view more)

One of the earliest investors in Facebook and Google has likened the effects of major Internet companies on users to the effects of addictive drugs. Roger McNamee accused the companies of "aggressive brain hacking" to make their ad business more ... profitable. Writing for USA Today before discussing the topic on NBC, McNamee also likened the companies' behavior to that of the gambling industry. He said they "exploit human nature, creating addictive behaviors that compel consumers to check for new messages, respond to notifications, and seek validation from technologies whose ... (view more)