John Lister

Smartphone and tablet manufacturers may be forced to offer updates and security fixes for longer. It's part of a European plan to reduce the need for users to get rid of old devices so often. The proposals would also mean manufacturers making parts ... available for independent repairers and making batteries either long-lasting or replaceable. The move could bring benefits to device buyers around the world. However, analysts also fear it could mean an end to cheap handsets, even if they are a false economy. The proposals come in a draft law in the European Union. They are now out for public ... (view more)

Two more applications have been removed from the Google Play Store after turning out to be a front for malware. As always in such cases, users who already have the apps installed need to uninstall them as this won't happen automatically. The apps in ... question are called Mister Phone Cleaner and Kylhavy Mobile Security. They had 50,000 and 10,000 downloads respectively before Google pulled the listings. The scam in these cases has a couple of key differences from the familiar story of scammers disguising malware as legitimate apps and finding a way to bypass Google's security checks. That ... (view more)

Microsoft's antivirus tools have mistakenly labeled Google Chrome and other browsers as housing malware. The error didn't cause any harm but may have annoyed or confused millions of users. The mistake affected Microsoft Defender (previously called ... Windows Defender), the built-in security tool in Windows that is likely the world's most widely used anti-malware tool. For most users, the mistake will have been most visible through a beeping noise and on-screen alert every time they opened Google Chrome. Confusingly, clicking on the notification opened up a screen which flashed more details for a ... (view more)

LG has made a monitor that automatically moves to the most comfortable viewing position for the user. The UltraFine Display Ergo AI can also move throughout the day to reduce the risk of users sitting in the same position for extended periods. The ... monitor has different modes attempting to mitigate different health and safety risks for users. One is the problem of not sitting at a suitable distance or comfortable angle, which can lead to eye and neck strain. Another is the problem of sitting in the same position throughout the day. If this position involves either slouching or excessive ... (view more)

The next iPhone model looks likely to have a free satellite connection that works virtually anywhere. Initially at least it will likely only work for text messages. The idea has reportedly been in the works for iPhones for some time but now looks ... likely to be announced in September and cover the forthcoming iPhone 14. Apple is holding a launch event titled "Far Out" and artwork showing space. Meanwhile a company called Globalstar announced earlier this year that it bought 17 new satellites to serve a new, unnamed customer. That's looking increasingly likely to be Apple. No Signal ... (view more)

A man who built his own broadband network because he couldn't afford a commercial service has got a $2.6 million government deal to serve other households. Jared Mauch took the drastic step after Comcast asked for $50,000 to connect his rural ... Michigan home. Mauch had been on a 1.5 Mbps phone line connection since 2002, a speed that was no longer sufficient for his needs. He had switched to a wireless service in frustration before asking Comcast to extends its network to cover his home. He told Arstechnica that he would have paid as much as $10,000 for the connection but could not afford the $ ... (view more)

Walmart has stopped offering a 30TB portable hard drive that was listed on its website for $39. The third-party listing was not an unbelievable bargain but rather an audaciously cheeky scam. The supposed solid state drive (SSD) was listed on ... WalMart's site but sold and shipped by a third party. One security researcher found the same item from the same seller at the Chinese-base Ali Express for $31.40. Those familiar with the SSD market would recognize straight away that this was, to say the least, an implausible price. Most externals SSD ranges designed for the consumer market top out at 4TB ... (view more)

Mount Kilimanjaro now has high-speed internet almost two-thirds of the way up the mountain. The Tanzanian government plans to have Internet connectivity at the summit by the end of the year. The mobile broadband is available through the ... government-owned Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation. The government minister involved marked the connection by posting online from an event held 3,720 meters up the 5,895 meter mountain. He wrote: "Today Up on Mount Kilimanjaro: I am hoisting high-speed INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS (BROADBAND) on the ROOF OF AFRICA." He also called for similar ... (view more)

Google has closed the account of a user who sent a photograph of his son's inflamed groin to a doctor. It's sticking by the closure despite an obvious case of its automated systems mistakenly flagging the image as abusive material. The account ... closure covers all Google services including the man's Gmail and his phone service which was provided by Google Fi. This was a disastrous combination as losing access to both emails and SMS messages to his phone number meant he couldn't get security codes to prove the ownership of many other online accounts. The man, identified by the New York Times ... (view more)

Google has revamped the look of Gmail, favoring people who use its other communication tools. The new look is not a complete overhaul but rather the type of change where users notice something is different, even if they can't immediately put their ... finger on what's changed. Users have a couple of options if they want to undo the changes. Gmail has two new main features. The first is a subtle color change, with the menu bar down the left column and the search bar at the top both now having pale blue backgrounds, visually breaking up the page. The second change is to the left-hand menu itself. ... (view more)