John Lister

Microsoft has denied it is using content from Word and Excel documents to train artificial intelligence models without permission. While there's some fear mongering, the problem seems to be a blanket declaration in its company-wide privacy ... statement. The controversy involves Connected Experiences, a long-standing Office feature that connects to the Internet for added functionality. This includes tools such as grammar checking, translation and audio transcription. It also allows downloads of templates and images, for example, to put into a PowerPoint presentation. The feature came to sudden ... (view more)

Google may soon warn users before they download a mediocre app. It's the first time the warnings will appear for matters of quality rather than security. The changes were spotted by Android Authority and are buried away in the code of the Play Store ... app. The code would make the app display one of three messages: This app is frequently uninstalled compared to similar apps on Play Play has limited user data about this app This app has few active users compared to others on Play Apps Not Blocked Based on the way the code is integrated, it doesn't appear this will be a high-profile warning such ... (view more)

Posts by both Elon Musk and Republican-leaning accounts became considerably more prominent on X (formerly Twitter) after he endorsed Donald Trump for President according to a study. The paper says the change was significant enough to suggest the ... site may have intentionally changed its algorithm. Much of the controversy over the site in the past few years has involved its default "For You" feed, which is created by an algorithm. Rather simply showing all posts from accounts the user follows in chronological order, the feed shows what X implies are the most likely posts to interest and engage ... (view more)

Windows 11 users may soon be able to install updates without needing to reboot their computers. The "hotpatch" system will initially debut for business users. The idea of a Windows update without a reboot isn't new but has previously only been ... available for Windows Server and Datacenter versions, where even a brief period offline during a reboot can be problematic. (Source: techradar.com ) The new hotpatch system will initially be available for Enterprise users of Windows 11 (if already updated to the 24H2 version), covering both the outright purchase and 365 subscription models. Users will ... (view more)

Gmail users will soon find it easier to avoid spam when signing up to new services. A new "Shielded Email" service will keep users' real email address secret. The idea is to overcome a common problem: many websites, mailing lists and other online ... services require a valid email address, but there's always a risk that providing it could lead to abuse such as unwanted spam or the address being passed on or leaked in a data breach. While Google does a reasonable (and sometimes overly aggressive) job of filtering spam, it's now working on a tool that will create a unique email address to put in ... (view more)

Claims that typing "Are Bengal cats legal in Australia?" into Google could destroy your computer and empty your bank account are somewhat overblown. But beneath the hyperbole, there's an interesting tactic from hackers. Numerous media sources have ... written stories about the supposed dangers of a "six word phrase" that users must not type for fear of exposing their personal data. The implication is that there's some sort of magical booby trap, but the reality is a little duller. The problem was spotted by Sophos which noted that several of the top search results for the query about the cats ... (view more)

The Department of Justice says Google must sell off Chrome following a court ruling on anti-competitive behavior. But it will be months before the court decides whether to force the sell off. Unsurprisingly, Google has expressed outrage with the ... suggestion, calling it a "staggering proposal." Back in August, a court ruled that Google had broken competition law in the way it maintained its market share for online searches. This included the ways it promotes its search engine through its own tech services, in addition to paying to be the default search tool on other devices including Apple ... (view more)

We recently reported on an AI model that could take control of a computer, for example to complete a form. Now a Google leak reveals its planning a similar technology. Anthropic recently released a beta update to its AI model Claude. It includes the ... ability to move a mouse cursor by taking a screenshot and calculating the number of pixels to figure out how far and in what direction to move. The company gave the example of the tool automatically copying data from a spreadsheet to fill out an online form. "Jarvis" Leaks Now Google has let slip it's about to release a similar tool. It ... (view more)

Windows 10 users who won't or can't upgrade to Windows 11 (due to hardware restrictions, such as TPM 2.0) will have to pay $30 to keep their computers officially patched by Microsoft after October 2025 and through 2026. It's the first time Microsoft ... has offered paid extended security updates for consumers. Windows 10 officially comes to its end of life point in October next year. After that Microsoft will no longer issue security updates to all users. Coming roughly 10 years after the system debuted, this is the normal schedule for Windows versions. However, the timetable feels different this ... (view more)

Google will soon let children use Android phones to make in-person purchases. It says there will be sufficient safeguards and controls for parents. The changes will be to Google Wallet. That's an app that lets users store card details and make ... payments in the real world without the card. The app also lets users store electronic versions of tickets and passes. The payments are contactless and use the NFC (near-field communication) chip in the phone. Users must authenticate the app through a security measure such as a PIN, passcode, fingerprint or facial recognition. Previously the app was only ... (view more)