Tech news

Snapchat soon may have a Connected Apps feature that is similar to the functionality at the heart of the Cambridge Analytica brouhaha, which has Facebook writhing under congressional scrutiny and consumer backlash. The latest beta features a new Connected Apps tab within the setting page. The page displays the following text: "These apps are connected to your Snapchat account. Choose an app to control what it has access to." Snapchat already allows Bitmoji and Shazam apps to connect directly to users' Snapchat accounts. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2Gr91fF

Nearly a week after it became the target of one of the largest ransomware attacks to date, the City of Atlanta has made progress toward recovery, but it is still far from business as usual. Hackers encrypted many of the city government's vital data and computer systems. The ransomware attack, which Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms characterized as "a hostage situation," forced the city to shut down municipal courts and even prevented residents from paying bills online. The city has been unable to issue warrants. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2pPxsgC

Smart homes are here. Although not every home in the U.S. is tricked out with the latest technologies, they're no longer a rarity. For example, a hefty 41 percent of the people who responded to an online survey conducted last year said they already owned smart home devices. Sales of smart refrigerators and washing machines more than doubled in 2017. Meanwhile, shipments of voice-controlled devices such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home speakers were 159 percent higher in 2017 than in 2016. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2uviTU7

Mozilla has announced Facebook Container, a Firefox browser extension that is designed to segregate users' activity on Facebook from their other Web activity, limiting Facebook's ability to track them and gather personal data. Mozilla recently has engaged in an aggressive strategy to counter Facebook data management policies that many see as intrusive. The extension is the culmination of more than two years of research into developing a more private browsing experience, Mozilla said. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2pLmg4e

Apple on Tuesday announced a refresh of its iPad as part of a new approach to the education market. CEO Tim Cook and other Apple officials also outlined a number of new education initiatives at an event held at Lane Tech College Prep High School in Chicago. The new 32-gigabyte, 9.7-inch iPad, which will sell to consumers for $329 and to students for $299, has a more powerful processor -- Apple's Fusion A10 chip. It sports a 2048-by-1536-pixel retina display with a ppi of 264. It also supports the Apple Pencil, discounted $10 for the education market. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2Gk1HlI

You've seen the ad: A family is vacationing out of town and the parents suddenly wonder if the house is locked up properly. They use their smartphone to remotely activate the smart locks and security system. Or this one: Someone rings the doorbell or merely approaches a home, and the homeowner uses a smartphone to speak through the video doorbell system, even when not at home, perhaps bewildering the visitor -- or potential intruder -- who can't tell where the voice is coming from. This picture has a dark side, though. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2Gi6wQw

Facebook on Sunday confirmed that its Messenger and Lite apps for Android smartphones routinely collect call and text histories. The call and text history logging are opt-in features for people using Messenger or Facebook Lite on Android devices, the company said in a post. The feature is designed to help users stay connected, and it improves the Facebook experience, according to the company. The Messenger feature can be turned off at any time through the app's settings. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2DYWbTI

The tech world experienced more insanity last week. We finally got confirmation from AMD that the CTS Labs security report was a tempest in a teapot, but the big question remained unanswered. A self-driving Uber vehicle killed a pedestrian, but we didn't ask the right questions. Facebook admitted that it gave our information to a bad actor, and we forgot what really would wake up Zuckerberg. Google, even when it tries to do something good, does something bad. Why does it suddenly seem like so many powerful tech firms are run by idiots? from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2IWe09F

ZevenOS' Neptune 5.0, released earlier this month, offers a refreshing take on a classic KDE-based Linux distro. Neptune 5 Refresh replaces version 4.5 and closes a dormant period that had produced no new releases for more than two years. The wait may be worth it for Linux fans who are devoted to the KDE Plasma desktop. Neptune 5 sports an easy-to-use USB installer tool. An included Persistent Creator makes it simple to store the operating system to the USB drive. You can update the USB drive installation easily. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2pyUpEi

YouTube has announced that it will ban videos related to the sale or assembly of firearms, as well as certain gun accessories including bump stocks. Under the new rules, all videos that show how to construct or even repair a firearm are banned -- even those from long-established YouTube channels. The new policy also bans videos that show how to reload ammunition. Videos that provide information on how to make modifications that involve anything simulating automatic fire are banned, as are those showing how to use high capacity magazines. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2GeWxL8

A virtual currency hardware wallet with millions of users has been compromised. Saleem Rashid explained how he cracked the firmware on the wallet produced by Ledger using what's known as a "supply chain" attack. That means a targeted device is compromised before any users get their hands on it. The attack on Ledger's $100 Nano S wallet creates a backdoor on the device that generates predetermined wallet addresses and passwords. With that information, a bandit might be able to send money from the wallet to his own account. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2GfErZC

Many Facebook members reportedly have shuttered their accounts in the wake of reports that Cambridge Analytica, a voter profiling company working for Donald Trump's presidential campaign, harvested data from 50 million users, unbeknownst to them. Indignation over Facebook's role in the data leak has mushroomed, and some users have taken to Twitter to announce their liberation from the social network. Facebook has been in hot water before over allegations of privacy intrusion and misuse of members' data, but it weathered those storms. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2HUHyTX

The Nest Hello video doorbell and the Nest x Yale Lock are now available, along with a new Nest Temperature Sensor -- the latest addition to the company's smart home lineup. Owners of the Hello video doorbell can use the Nest app for iOS or Android to see and converse with people without opening their door. The x Yale Lock -- a tamper-proof, key-free deadbolt -- also connects with the Nest app, allowing users to lock and unlock their door from anywhere. The Temperature Sensor works with Nest's smart thermostats. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2ps3Fdp

The scene in A Few Good Men with Jack Nicholson going off on handling the truth has been coming to mind way too often of late. Sadly, this is the world we are living in right now, and social media is at the heart of it. I recently noticed a headline that implied a lot of people had taken exception to something Gal Gadot, the woman who impressively portrayed Wonder Woman in the movie of the same name, tweeted about Stephen Hawking. I fell for it -- only to discover that the clear majority of folks actually supported what Gadot had tweeted. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2pogVPu

YouTube intends to ramp up its efforts to combat conspiracy mongers, perhaps in response to the rash of conspiracy videos that trended following the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, last month. Among other things, YouTube will supply links to relevant Wikipedia pages and other credible websites to provide viewers with a counter narrative, according to CEO Susan Wojcicki, who revealed the plans earlier this week during a panel discussion at SXSW. YouTube plans to roll out additional features over the next few months. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2tTubkK

A new air taxi service financially backed by Google cofounder Larry Page is set to take off in New Zealand, thanks to an agreement announced this week. Page's Kitty Hawk company, the developer of a new autonomous flying machine called "Cora," will begin testing the service in rural Canterbury, a region in the South Island, according to Hayden Munro, press secretary for Megan Woods, New Zealand's minister of research, science and innovation. The electric air taxi can carry two passengers. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2FM4LHg

The Raspberry Pi Foundation on Wednesday launched the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+. The new release comes two years after the introduction of its predecessor, the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B. The Raspberry Pi computer runs the open source Raspbian operating system. The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ is an incremental upgrade to a line of predecessors that have become entrenched in education, hobbyist and industry markets. "The initial production run was only 10,000 boards," noted Simon Ritter, deputy CTO of Azul Systems. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2FLZOy1

Fitbit on Tuesday added a new smartwatch to its wearables line with a pricetag of $199.95. The Fitbit Versa, which will reach global retail outlets in next month, will be the lightest metal smartwatch in the U.S. market. It includes a new dashboard that simplifies the way health and fitness data is accessed on the device. Versa mixes health and fitness programs, such as 24/7 heart rate tracking, onscreen workouts and automatic sleep-stage tracking, with smart features like quick replies on Android and on-device music. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2GtiG5Y

SpaceChain has entered a partnership with the Arch Mission Foundation to use open source technology to launch an ambitious project involving the storage of large data sets in spacecraft and on other planets. Arch Mission will load large quantities of data onto SpaceChain's satellite vehicles with the eventual aim of storing data on other planets. "The goal of archiving and preserving knowledge of future generations will advance archiving science and human knowledge by itself," SpaceChain cofounder Zheng Zuo said. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2pcLIP7

Oh, look, it's a new flagship smartphone duo from Samsung. Shockingly enough, they're called the "Galaxy S9" and "Galaxy S9+." They have a similar appearance to the previous year's models, but there are also a few differences, such as a new camera and stereo speakers. There's a 960-frames-per-second slow motion mode, and there's the option to add music to clips or turn them into GIFs. An adjustable aperture accounts for how much light there is in the field of view and can be adjusted accordingly for sharper photos. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2tLJU5e

One of the most interesting parts of Nvidia's GPU Technology Conference, Inception, allows small focused startups to pitch their ideas in a Shark Tank -like atmosphere to compete for a significant cash prize. Two of the more compelling solutions were presented by companies run by women this year. However, the big news was a company that was well along the way to creating an electronic human/machine interface that has huge implications for prosthetics in the near term, and the singularity in the long term. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2Futu6B

President Donald Trump on Thursday met behind closed doors with several top video game industry executives, association representatives, politicians and others to discuss video game violence in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, last month. Among the scheduled attendees were Strauss Zelnick, CEO of TakeTwo Interactive Software, and Robert Altman, CEO of Zenimax Media, where Trump's younger brother Robert sits on the board. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2FqX60H

Samsung's new Galaxy S9 and S9+ handsets claimed the spotlight on Thursday as the first reviews of the smartphones surfaced. The general consensus appears to be that these new models successfully built on past designs, yet fell short in numerous areas. The new phones are good -- but anyone expecting revolutionary functionality may be disappointed. Those who upgraded to the Galaxy S8 and S8+ last year may not find impressive-enough changes to upgrade to the S9 and S9+, many reviewers suggested. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2IcC5J1

The Pardus Linux distro offers an inviting computing experience with both old and new options. However, a dual development path narrows its user appeal. Pardus suffers from sharing its personality -- splitting its attention between an enterprise edition and a community version. While they both share the same distro name, they come from different developer teams. Pardus began as a Gentoo-based project before rebranding with a new identity. Prior to 2012, the original developers lost funding. Then the Turkish government began sponsoring the OS. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2IdDfUG

Americans have been targeted on social media by Russian agents on a mission to harvest personal information. The agents pretended to work for organizations promoting African-American businesses as a ruse to obtain personal information from black business owners during the 2016 presidential election campaign. Using names like "BlackMattersUS" and "Black4Black," the agents set up hundreds of social media accounts. Facebook's recently introduced tool for identifying Russian propaganda doesn't address Kremlin agents masquerading as Americans. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2tzn6pt

Sony Semiconductor Solutions, Nikon, Foxconn, Scenera and Wistron have formed an alliance to create standards that allow surveillance and IP cameras to play well with each other. The NICE Alliance, unveiled Monday, aims to create a new smart camera ecosystem, along the lines of the mobile ecosystems that have become so familiar. The "NICE" acronym stands for "Network of Intelligent Camera Ecosystem." The idea is to create a shared set of standards that will allow cameras to communicate with each other and with services in the cloud. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2I58EZk

Kali Linux has become available in the Microsoft Store. Windows 10 users can download and install the Kali Linux app onto the Windows Subsystem for Linux. Microsoft last summer announced that WSL, which makes it possible to run operating systems like Ubuntu, would become a fully supported part of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. The availability of Kali Linux is especially appealing to penetration testers and security professionals whose toolsets have been limited due to enterprise compliance standards. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2D55oJN

Facebook has come under fire after posing a survey question on how it should deal with predatory sexual behavior against children over the weekend. Survey participants were asked whether sexual predators should be allowed to request photographic images from 14-year-old girls online. Further, users were queried about how Facebook should handle such a request if it learned about it. The survey also asked whether the site should better manage content involving extremist behavior and whether cultural norms should be taken into account. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2I20rVH

Dell recently collaborated with the Institute for the Future -- an interesting think tank largely driven by futurists, which focuses on helping firms ride future waves rather than being killed by them -- on a survey that creates a frightening view of 2030. It could be far closer to Terminator than the utopia we once hoped for. I think more companies should go through a process like this. The reason is that it could help overcome what has become an overwhelming trend to ignore the future and instead focus excessively on quarterly results. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2H64tLu

It's a truism that just like organizations adapt, so too do criminals. For example, anyone who has ever seen a Wells Fargo commercial knows that there was a time when stagecoaches were a normative method for transporting cash and valuables. But what modern criminals in their right mind would attempt robbing a Brink's truck on horseback? While that strategy might have worked well in the days of the Pony Express, attempting it in now would be out of touch and inefficient. Criminals adapt to keep pace in the same way that organizations adapt. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2HXgLHv

Microsoft has announced the first major upgrade to its Quantum Development Kit since its introduction last year. It has added several new features designed to open the platform to a wider array of developers, including support for Linux and macOS, as well as additional open source libraries. Further, the kit will be interoperable with the Python computing language. Microsoft announced the Quantum Development Kit at its Ignite conference last fall. It launched the free preview about three months later, featuring the new Q# programming language. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2F7yUAk

Uber has introduced Uber Health, a new service designed to provide reliable transportation specifically for healthcare-related needs. The program, which is currently in beta, will offer healthcare providers a way to order rides for their patients to help them keep their appointments. Uber Health addresses a growing problem, especially with seniors and others who lack good transportation options for visits to doctors or clinics. As many as 3.6 million Americans miss doctor appointments due to lack of reliable transportation. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2GUcweg

Vero has been enjoying a surge in user engagement in recent weeks, a trend that may be tied to growing user discontent over recent changes to Instagram's algorithm, along with an assortment of other objections that have been driving users away from the leading social platforms. Vero has rapidly moved up in the App Store and Google Play rankings, according to Adam Blacker, brand ambassador at Apptopia. "Once an app starts climbing the ranks, it becomes more visible and downloads are self-perpetuating." from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2GXv0e3