John Lister

The next major update to Windows 11 should be going public in the not-too-distant future. The 22H2 update has reached its final testing stage. The name might suggest it's the second of the usual two main updates to Windows 11 released each year. In ... fact the pace of change has slowed so much that there was no Windows 11 22H1 release, and instead 22H2 is the only major update expected this year. The update has now reached the third and final "channel" of the Windows Insiders test program that lets people access updates early. The Dev channel is used for all prospective changes to Windows, ... (view more)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has fined Twitter $150 million for unlawfully giving personal data to advertisers. The fine is so high because Twitter breached a settlement in a 2011 case. Back then, hackers broke into Twitter and were able to ... access personal information, including messages that users had set as private. The FTC said then that Twitter had misled users by making promises about how secure and private they kept user data. At that time, Twitter escaped any penalty but accepted a "consent agreement" to settle the case. That wasn't an admission of wrongdoing, but did mean ... (view more)

Nearly half of all leading websites are vulnerable to an audacious hacking method according to a new report. The attacks involve hijacking an account before it has even been created. The scam uses various methods, but usually involves creating an ... account using an email address, then waiting for the actual owner of that email address to attempt to create an account on a specific website. Microsoft's Andrew Paverd and independent researcher Avinash Sudhodanan detailed the problems in a research paper and blog post. (Source: microsoft.com ) They say the "root cause" of the problem is that many ... (view more)

Apple is to let app developers raise subscription prices without users actively accepting the hike. It's a reversal of the current opt-in system for increases. The move affects subscription apps which most commonly involve music and video streaming ... services and digital magazines. At the moment, developers can automatically charge customers at regular intervals until the customer cancels. However, if the developer wants to put the price up, they'll need to show a message clearly marked "Agree to New Price." If the customer doesn't tap on this button, their subscription automatically ... (view more)

A former Facebook content moderator is suing the site's operators claiming the work mentally harmed him. Daniel Motaung says the low-paid work left him with post-traumatic stress disorder. Motaung is suing Facebook's owner Meta along with Sama, the ... contracting company that hired him for the work. He says he was misled by a job ad that implied content moderation was a small part of a wider customer service role. He was recruited in South Africa and relocated to work in Nairobi where he was paid the equivalent of $2.20 an hour. He says this relocation made it more difficult for himself and ... (view more)

The most recent Windows 11 update has caused bugs so significant that some users may be better off uninstalling it, despite the security implications. It's a situation with some particularly embarrassing elements for Microsoft. The update has the ... code name KB5013943 and was released to the general public on May 10th. It's reported some users in Microsoft's test program who got the update early experienced problems, meaning it's a surprise the same bugs appear to still have been present in the general release. Compatibility Glitches The problem is with the .NET Framework. That's effectively a ... (view more)

Facebook is to ditch some tools which tracked a user's location. It seems to be more about the tools being little used than a sudden interest in boosting privacy. The tools all involved tracking a user's location in real time and using the ... information to provide some sort of service. Perhaps the best known was "Nearby Friends" which lived up to its name, telling users if anyone they knew on Facebook (or at least anyone who also had the feature switched on) was in the area, allowing for semi-spontaneous meet-ups. The tools also included localized weather alerts. In both cases, many users ... (view more)

Google is making it easier to change passwords on an Android device after a security breach. It's automating much of the process through the Google Assistant feature. It works with the saved passwords tool on Chrome, which can automatically fill in ... user names and password fields on websites. The passwords themselves are then stored securely in the user's Google account, which is one of the reasons it's so important to keep the Google password secure. On both desktop and mobile devices, Chrome can already warn users if their saved login details for a particular site is known to have been ... (view more)

Twenty US Internet providers have agreed to offer low-cost Internet plans to people on lower incomes. The deal combines with government subsidies to mean many people will get free broadband. Following the recent infrastructure bill passing, the ... federal government now offers a subsidy of $30 taken off broadband bills for around 48 million households. The Affordable Connectivity Program covers low income households, plus those with people eligible for public programs such as Medicaid and veterans pensions. More than 11.5 million people have already claimed the subsidy. (Source: yahoo.com ) The ... (view more)

Google is making it easier for people to remove web pages with their personal contact details from search results. It won't remove them from web pages, but may make it less likely people will come across them. The policy makes information less ... visible in two ways. Firstly, it stops it appearing on the search results page through the extracts from the relevant pages. Secondly, it may make it less likely the page that hosts the content will appear in a search result. While Google is legally required to remove some personal information from search results under European privacy laws, it goes a ... (view more)