apps

Facebook is launching an app that tracks what apps users use on their devices. In return, compensation will be provided. Facebook says only users over 18 years of age can take part in the 'research'. The app is named "Study" and is openly billed as ... being a "market research tool" for Facebook. It's designed for Facebook to learn more about its users, which the company says will help improve its services. Study will collect and transmit details of what apps are on the user's phones, how much time they spend using those apps, and - in some cases - what specific featured they ... (view more)

Microsoft says it is working on a "modern operating system" for the computers of the future. It avoided using the term "Windows" and the features and characteristics it describes share a lot with Google's Chrome operating system. The details came in ... a talk by Microsoft executives at Computex, a conference in Taipei. They demonstrated some of the latest laptops that run Windows, but then discussed how future PCs will have continually evolving requirements. The company's write-up of the talk says Microsoft is investing in "modern OS" experiences and uses that term eight times in a single ... (view more)

Google has stopped working with Chinese manufacturer Huawei, following a US government supply ban. It will have limited effect on Huawei smartphones and tablets that use the Google Android operating system, but will be a huge long-term problem for ... Huawei. The move comes after an executive order from the US President that restricts the way American companies can supply the Chinese-based firm. While attributed to security concerns involving the Chinese government, the order was made under economic emergency powers. (Source: theguardian.com ) Android-based Huawei handsets will continue to work ... (view more)

Unwanted pre-installed software on Android devices often poses privacy and security risks according to a new study. That's because the so-called "bloatware" often by-passes Google's vetting process. One of the key selling points, or big drawbacks - ... depending on your perspective - of the Android operating system is that phone and tablet makers can customize their own devices, through the user interface and the apps that appear when a new device is first powered on. That's different from systems such as Apple, where both the hardware and software are controlled by the same company . The study ... (view more)

The Supreme Court has ruled that lower courts can hear a case claiming Apple's pricing policy for its apps breaches anti-trust laws . The claimants say Apple has a monopoly, and its mandatory commission drives up prices unfairly. The case centers on ... two main differences between apps on Apple mobile devices and those on rival systems such as Google's Android. The first is that it is virtually impossible to install an app on an iPhone or iPad from a sources other than the official iTunes App Store - something Apple cites as being important for security reasons. The second is that publishers ... (view more)

Microsoft will add a "tamper protection" feature to the built in antivirus tools in an upcoming Windows 10 update. It's designed to stop malware from switching off key security features in Microsoft Defender. Initially the changes will be available ... for Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, which is a subscription service for businesses. However, Microsoft appears to have revealed it will later become available to home users of Windows 10. (Source: zdnet.com ) The idea is to prevent rogue apps from disabling some of the weapons in the Microsoft Defender arsenal, in turn making it far ... (view more)

A new report claims most Android "antivirus" apps don't provide enough protection to justify that term. It says two-thirds of the antivirus programs were so ineffective, they were practically useless. The report comes from AV-Comparatives, a website ... that tests antivirus and other security software. It says it was inspired to look at Android apps after spotting one that literally did nothing but show a fake progress bar before saying no malicious apps were present (without actually carrying out a scan). The test involved putting 250 different Android antivirus apps to work on Samsung Galaxy S9 ... (view more)

At least eight apps in the official Microsoft Store were secretly designed to use a computer's resources without permission. It undermines Microsoft's efforts to promote the store as a "safe source of software." In the past few years, Microsoft has ... heavily pushed the idea of Windows users getting software from an app store - similar to the way mobile devices work - rather than the more traditional method of getting programs from a third-party sources and installing them directly to the PC or smartphone / tablet. There's even a special 'S' mode for Windows 10 that only allows the ... (view more)

Security researchers say some major password manager tools could be flawed. But they also say it's still sensible to use them, just with a degree of caution. It's a fact that using the same password for multiple sites is a massive security risk. ... That's because if one site gets hacked, it could mean that hackers can use the same password on another website to gain access to potentially sensitive information, resulting in identity theft or financial loss. Password manager tools (such as Roboform and Dashlane ) aim to overcome two big dilemmas with online passwords - which is keeping passwords ... (view more)

Security researchers have warned a notorious piece of malware has returned to Android. It's in disguise, posing as a legitimate and popular VPN application. Researchers at the security firm Bitdefender have dubbed the malware as "Triout," which was ... first spotted last August. It's a particularly nasty piece of malware as it carries out multiple hostile acts. (Source: bitdefender.com ) These include recording phone calls, reading incoming SMS messages, taking pictures and videos, and collecting location data such as GPS coordinates. Triout is designed to operate without being detected ... (view more)