Thursday, June 30, 2022

Latest Gadgets News

ISRO's PSLV-C53 was launched on Thursday from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. It is designed to orbit the DS-EO satellites along with two other co-passenger satellites from Singapore.

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Best Gap Insurance Companies for July 2022 - CNET

You aren't required to buy gap insurance, but it can come in handy if you're financing or leasing your car.

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Latest Tech News

TV and projector maker Hisense announced that its flagship line of L9G Laser TV projectors have received a free Dolby Vision upgrade. The upgrade was supplied this week via an automatic firmware update, allowing L9G owners to immediately experience the benefits of Dolby Vision high dynamic range.

While Hisense isn’t the first company to announce a projector with Dolby Vision – Xiaomi has released a model with Dolby Vision compatibility, though that model is only available in China – the L9G is the first such model in the US market to provide that feature, which is commonly found in the best 4K TVs, but not in projectors.

Otherwise, the L9G is a complete A/V package consisting of a 4K ultra short throw (UST) projector and bundled ambient light-rejecting (ALR) projection screen. The projector, which sits approximately 12 inches from the wall-mounted screen, features a built-in 40-watt Dolby Atmos audio system, Android TV for streaming, and Google Assistant voice control. It’s sold with either a 100-inch screen for $5,499 (about £4000, AU$7500) or a 120-inch screen for $5,999 (about £4400, AU$8000)

Hisense calls the L9G a ‘TriChroma’ projector based on its advanced light engine that uses separate red, green, and blue lasers to beam images. Along with high brightness – the L9G delivers a specified 3,000 lumens light output – Hisense’s UST projector is said to achieve 107% of BT.2020, the recommended color space for Ultra HDTV. (Few TVs or projectors are capable of hitting anywhere near full BT.2020, which is not even supported by current streaming or disc-based video formats.)

Analysis: It’s about time projectors got Dolby Vision 

Why did it take so long for Dolby Vision to arrive in projectors? Compared with regular flat-panel TVs, projectors have limited light output. The HDR10 format that 4K models do support is a basic high dynamic range variant where the movie or TV program conveys its maximum and average HDR brightness to the display (either a TV or projector) and it then accommodates that static information to the best of its capability.

Dolby Vision, on the other hand, is a dynamic HDR format where the contrast range of images are determined on a scene-by-scene or even a frame-by-frame basis. With Dolby Vision, the display (again, a TV or projector) can convey information about its maximum brightness/contrast potential to the source, and video content can then be ‘tone-mapped’ on a dynamic basis to make the most of the system’s potential.

Note that I used the word ‘system’ there. With a pre-configured projector-and-screen package like Hisense’s L9G, both the projector’s light output and the contribution of the screen to the brightness and contrast levels of images are a known quantity. This differs from most projector setups, where screens with different gain (the ratio of projected light that’s reflected back by the screen material) levels are used, or there’s no projection screen at all.

With its high brightness, TriChroma laser light engine, and bundled screen with predictable performance characteristics, Hisense’s upgraded L9G Laser TV seems to be the right candidate for launching Dolby Vision in projectors. TechRadar previously reviewed the LG9 and commented favorably on its picture quality. Maybe we’ll have to call it back in now to see how it performs with the Dolby Vision upgrade. 



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Latest Gadgets News

Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital has been accused of exceeding its assets threshold and providing false information by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Crypto broker Voyager Digital issued 3AC with a default notice on Monday after it failed to make payments on a loan.

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NextGen TV: Everything You Need to Get Free TV - CNET

NextGen TV, formerly known as ATSC 3.0, is the new over-the-air broadcasting standard. Here's what you need to know about its free content.

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Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Latest Tech News

The early days, when the iPhone was new, were special. 15 years ago, Steve Jobs and Apple engineered what could best be described as a hype beast of a product launch.

First, Jobs unveiled the iPhone at Macworld in January 2007, but it would be months before the iPhone would officially launch. Whether by design or necessity, that delay turned out to be the best possible way to launch what would become a technological and cultural touchstone.

Anticipation for availability details and the official launch date built and built until Apple announced and, naturally, the tech media reported it.

Hype central turned out to be the one-year-old Apple Flagship Store on Fifth Ave. While I remember launch day, I don’t recall attending or even walking by. However, reports from the time described a line that literally ran down the front steps of the store and snaked around the block. There was media, and third-party companies trying to ride this cresting wave of excitement. It was pandemonium.

The old-fashioned way

Apple generated all this without the benefit of social media. Facebook was just a couple of years old and mostly only college students used it. Twitter hadn’t caught on with the general public. There was no Instagram.

This was all built on traditional media hype and word of mouth.

Apple leaned into it, hard. There were store employees acting as cheerleaders, leading people in chants of “When I say ‘I,’ you say, ‘iPhone.’”

The scenes of people waiting all night (sometimes for days) outside of Apple Stores were repeated around the country. 

Why?

Apple and Jobs had spent the last eight years building brand devotion that some might argue surpassed the concurrent quality of their products. I don’t see it that way. There’s never been a company, tech or otherwise, that managed to pair exquisite design and industry-leading quality and utility with a brand affinity that built into something approaching a cult.

As one guy told The New York Times in 2007 while he waited online outside a Chicago Apple Store for the first iPhone, “If Apple made sliced bread, yeah, I’d buy it.”

The devotion was born out of products like the iMac, iBook, and iPod. Steve Jobs was the glue that bound it all together. It was hard to find an Apple fanatic who wasn’t as devoted to Jobs as he was to his iPod.

An original iPhone

(Image credit: TechRadar)

Devotion and repetition

After that first launch, I became a regular at the yearly launch events, which eventually moved from the Summer to September or October. For a while, the hype machine continued unabated. At the iPhone 6s launch, I remember meeting one of the first eager iPhone recipients, a young woman who traveled from Lithuania to get a Rose-colored device she still couldn’t buy in her home country.

Still, by then the tenor of the events had shifted. Yes, there were still lines, but they were often filled with professional line waiters who would buy the phones for other people and those who were buying for resale. Pre-orders, home delivery, and at-home activation all became commonplace – and easier than waiting outside an Apple store.

The lines were starting to shrink, but Apple’s team of hypers was growing and getting bolder.

After the Lithuanian woman brought her new, still-boxed phone outside, they demanded she unbox it for the crowd. She complied and seemed excited, but I thought it was a little forced.

Never the same

There are the occasional blips back to past excitement, like when Apple introduced the iPhone X in 2017. Its radical new look and notch created a buzz not seen since the Jobs days. I thought the line at the Fifth Avenue store was among the biggest I’d seen in years. I had the phone early and when I waved it in front of a few future iPhone X owners, they visibly swooned.

Obviously, the pandemic vaporized that phenomenon for a few years, but even before then, I’m not sure the lines of iPhone customers were as big as the groups of professional Team Apple cheerleaders who created a gauntlet for new iPhone owners to run through.

15 years on, Apple’s iPhone is still an excellent smartphone, clearly a leader in its field, but the hype bubble Apple and Steve Jobs nurtured and grew is visibly deflated. We still love the devices and buy them by the millions, but that cultural moment is gone.

I look forward to the next product that can generate that kind of thrill.



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Latest Gadgets News

Flipkart Big Bachat Dhamaal Sale July 2022 is going live from July 1 till July 3 with deals and discounts on smartphones and other home appliances. The e-commerce platform will be offering new deals every day at 12am, 8am, and 4pm between the specified dates during the Flipkart Big Bachat Dhamaal Sale July 2022.

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Here's When the Final 2 Stranger Things Episodes Hit Netflix in Your Time Zone - CNET

The conclusion to season 4 is almost here.

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Latest Tech News

A brand new phishing campaign leveraging chatbot software on Messenger has been uncovered by cybersecurity firm SpiderLabs.

The goal of the campaign is to obtain people’s Facebook credentials and various other personal information, the researchers explained.

At first, the victim receives an email, pretending to be from Facebook, claiming that their page is in violation of the site’s community standards and will be terminated in 48 hours.

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The email also carries an “Appeal Now” link, which gives the victim a chance to appeal the termination.

Red flags galore

Thankfully, the content of the email contains a few red flags that should help users identify the message as fraudulent.

For example, there are a few spelling and grammar mistakes in the body of the message, and the recipient’s name appears as “Policy Issues”, which is not how Facebook handles such cases.

Should the victim still press the “Appeal Now” link, they are then taken to a Messenger chatbot, where they are prompted to click through to another “Appeal Now” link. This is most likely done to circumvent any email security services, as the link to the chatbot is not malicious in itself.

Here, the researchers found more red flags: the page that owns the chatbot has a handle @case932571902, which is most definitely not Facebook’s. It’s also empty, having zero followers and zero posts.

If the victim proceeds, they are taken to a website hosted on Google Firebase. This one is disguised as a Facebook “Support Inbox”, and this is where the victim ends up giving away sensitive data to the attackers.

According to the researchers, the attackers are asking for email addresses, mobile numbers, first and last names, page names and, obviously, passwords

“Chatbots serve a huge purpose in digital marketing and live support, so it is no wonder that cyber attackers are now abusing this feature. People are not inclined to be suspicious of its contents, especially if it comes from a seemingly genuine source,” the report states.

“The fact that the spammers are leveraging the platform that they are mimicking makes this campaign a perfect social engineering technique. As always, we advise everyone to remain vigilant when surfing the web and to not interact with unsolicited emails.”



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Latest Gadgets News

A cyberattack temporarily hit public and private websites in Norway in the past 24 hours, Norwegian authorities said. The distributed-denial-of-service (DDOS) attack targeted a secure national data network forcing the temporary suspension of online services for several hours.

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Latest Tech News

HPE has unveiled a new Arm-based server at its annual Discover event; the 11th-generation ProLiant RL300 runs on Altra and Altra Max processors from Ampere Computing, which also feature in Oracle and Azure cloud offerings.

The RL300 server will be available in Q3 and is the first (and only) Arm-based product in HPE’s server portfolio (excluding the Apollo 80 which, with its Fujitsu A64FX, targets a very small niche).

Geared towards cloud-native applications, the RL300 is a 1U, single-socket server with a chassis that can hold up to ten 2.5-inch storage drives (SSD or HDD) and 16 DIMM slots. Meanwhile, the Altra processor goes back to basics, with 1-core/1-thread running at constant speed; no multi threading, base speeds shenanigans, providing what HPE calls “predictable performance”.

This is not HPE’s first Arm server; in its previous life, HP had a pet project called Moonshot that used Arm-based Calxeda chips, but things didn’t go to plan. The company will be hoping for better results this time around.

Analysis: An Arm-ed renaissance?

It will be interesting to see whether the other big OEMs, Lenovo and Dell, will start offering Arm-based servers built on Ampere’s offering.

Amazon is plowing ahead with its very own Graviton server chips, following a similar trajectory to Apple, in an attempt to control as much of the compute stack as possible.

Google has dipped its toes in silicon design too with its Tensor system-on-chip and it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if it launched its own Arm CPU platform should that segment take off.

As for Ampere, its cloud-native processors will continue to make inroads, having already established itself as the challenger architecture in China with four CSPs under its belt (Alibaba, JD, Tencent and Ucloud). And we know that it will move away from Arm’s Neoverse core to a new in-house full custom micro architecture, called Siryn, which will use a 5nm process.

Siryn will be compatible with Arm’s ISA and allow Ampere to differentiate itself even further from the rest of the competition.



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Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Latest Gadgets News

Vivo V25 is going to launch in India in the third week of august, according to a report citing industry sources. The Vivo V25 Pro is said to launch in September alongside a Vivo V25 special edition. Vivo V25 is expected to feature a 6.62-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate.

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Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: Every New Pokemon Revealed So Far - CNET

Take a look at some new Pokemon debuting in the upcoming Nintendo Switch games.

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Latest Gadgets News

Rajasthan government on Tuesday imposed prohibitory orders and suspended mobile internet service across the state in view of communal tension following the murder of a tailor in Udaipur. Leaves of police and administration officials have also been cancelled.

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'Westworld' Season 4 Premiere Recap: A Time Jump, A Mysterious Caller and Teddy - CNET

Here's everything that went down in the first episode.

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Latest Tech News

Political campaign emails could soon be safe from falling into Gmail spam folders if a new initiative from Google gets the green light.

The technology giant has petitioned the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to approve a new pilot program that will make it less likely for such emails to end up marked as spam.

The move could see Gmail inboxes flooded with political campaign emails, particularly as the United States gears up for a presidential election in 2024.

Gmail political spam

The filing, spotted by Axios, comes after complaints from the Republican party that Google unfairly filters more of its messaging than that of its Democratic rivals. 

recent study of 300,000 emails during the 2020 election claimed Gmail was 50% more likely to designate messages from Republicans as spam than those from Democrats. 

The party introduced a bill earlier in June 2022 that, if passed, would require platforms such as Gmail to explain exactly how it filters out messages, as well as making it illegal to sort campaign emails into spam unless specifically asked to do so by the user.

In response, Google is looking to make the process more transparent, with its pilot meaning "authorized candidate committees, political party committees and leadership political action committees registered with the FEC" becoming exempt from being marked as spam.

Such emails would still need to adhere to Google's security and content guidelines, and users will need to give their consent to receive such messages. The company says that when receiving an email from a campaign for the first time, users would see a “prominent” notification asking for their approval, and would be able to opt out of any future emails.

"We recently asked the FEC to authorize a pilot program that may help improve inboxing rates for political bulk senders and provide more transparency into email deliverability, while still letting users protect their inboxes by unsubscribing or labeling emails as spam," Google spokesperson José Castañeda told Axios

“We want Gmail to provide a great experience for all of our users, including minimizing unwanted email, but we do not filter emails based on political affiliation," he added.

"We look forward to exploring new ways to provide the best possible Gmail experience.”



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Monday, June 27, 2022

Latest Gadgets News

Oppo is expected to launch the Watch 3 smartwatch and Band 2 fitness tracker in India. The wearables are also said to launch globally in second half of this year. Oppo is yet to confirm the details about both the wearables. The smartwatch is said to get a square dial.

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Your Phone Screen Is Filthy. Here's How to Disinfect It and Remove Fingerprints - CNET

Wipe away smudges and bacteria with these phone-cleaning tips.

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Do Energy Star Appliances Actually Save You Money? - CNET

Here's what that blue label really means.

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BMW Teases Retro M4-Based 3.0 CSL Hommage Production Model - CNET

BMW first showed off a 3.0 CSL concept in 2015.

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Save 25% on a Custom Hydroflask Bottle That's as Unique as You - CNET

Design your own Hydroflask water bottle or tumbler with exclusive colors, custom text and more.

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How Apple, Disney and Other Companies Have Responded to Supreme Court Overturning Roe v. Wade - CNET

Some companies will cover costs for employees who need to seek abortion care out of state.

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Latest Tech News

Given the price of the new AMD Threadripper Pro, you’d expect the company’s finest HEDT processor to squash the competition ruthlessly. And it turns out that in most cases it generally does, except in a couple of rather important ones, according to the first comprehensive test carried out.

US-based Pugetsystems, a popular workstation vendor, published a series of in-depth reviews of the Threadripper Pro 5995WX, 10 of them spanning across a number of applications, with Intel’s Xeon W-3300 standing in as a sparring partner. 

Even with its 64-cores, the 5995WX couldn’t beat Intel’s Core i9-12900K in Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Lightroom Classic and in Adobe Photoshop while the two came very close on After Effects.

Testing times

The obvious conclusion is that if you plan to stick with Adobe Creative Cloud, Intel is probably the way to go. The 12900K is not even the fastest Intel HEDT processor right now, this title belongs to the 12950HX, launched in May 2022.

For the rest of the benchmarks (DaVinci, Cinebench, V-Ray, Blender and Unreal), core numbers are still important, allowing the 5995WX to top the leaderboard. Another popular benchmark, PassMark, has entries for the 5995WX where it became the first processor to smash through the 100,000 mark barrier, a healthy 15% improvement on the previous champion, the EPYC 7773X.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 5000 SKU Cores / Threads Frequency (Boost / Base) TDP
AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 5995WX 64 / 128 Up to 4.5 / 2.7 GHz 280W
AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 5975WX 32 / 64 Up to 4.5 / 3.6 GHz 280W
AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 5965WX 24 / 48 Up to 4.5 / 3.8 GHz 280W

Intel’s HEDT revival?

Overall, Intel seems to be faring better in lightly threaded workloads which means that Intel’s fastest consumer CPU will suffice for most creative tasks.

AMD will certainly have noticed how competitive the new Core i9 processors are even compared with AMD’s current top-of-the-range consumer processor, the Ryzen 9 5950X. 

Realistically though, we’re due for an update given that the current crop of Ryzen desktop CPUs was launched in November 2020, more than 18-months ago. Early this year, laptop processors based on Zen3+ architecture gave us a glimpse of how powerful their desktop (and server) counterparts could be.



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Sunday, June 26, 2022

The 17 Best Sci-Fi Movies on Netflix You Need to Watch - CNET

The sci-fi movies you need to watch on Netflix.

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Recession, Inflation and Stagflation: Defining Risks of the Economy's Big Words - CNET

Experts worry the US is heading for an economic meltdown not seen since the 1970s.

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Drip Pricing Is Hiding in Your Receipts: What Are These Sneaky Fees? - CNET

These stealthy customer fees are costing you more money, and you likely won't see them until you get the bill.

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Keep Flowers Fresh Longer: Tips That Actually Work, According to Experts - CNET

Get a bouquet of flowers for your anniversary? Or birthday? Whatever the occasion, make sure you keep them beautiful as long as possible.

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Apple's First Mixed-Reality Headset May Sport New M2 Processor - CNET

New headset featuring both virtual and augmented reality environments is part of a "deluge" of new products reportedly coming in the next year.

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You Can Get Free Wi-Fi Anywhere in the World. Here's How - CNET

No internet at home? No problem. Here's how to get online in any place.

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Saturday, June 25, 2022

Early Pregnancy Symptoms: How to Tell Before a Missed Period - CNET

Pregnancy symptoms are really similar to those of PMS on paper, but there are a few clues your body gives you if you listen.

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Pokemon Go June Community Day: Deino, Event Move, Bonuses and More - CNET

Pokemon Go's next Community Day takes place June 25.

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Porsche's 963 is a Prototype Destined for Le Mans - CNET

No street car, this thing is only for the track.

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Apple, Disney, Others Speak Out on Supreme Court Overturning Roe v. Wade - CNET

Some companies have said they'll cover expenses for employees who need to seek health care out of state.

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Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards for June 2022 - CNET

A balance transfer credit card can save you a lot of time and money when you need to pay off credit card debt.

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Friday, June 24, 2022

Latest Tech News

Microsoft has just released previews of three new updates, which seemingly fix multiple connectivity issues plaguing some Windows versions after the last cumulative update.

As reported by BleepingComputer, the company published three cumulative updates for the month, one for Windows 11 (KB5014668), one for Windows Server 2022 (KB5014665), and one for Windows 10, 1809 (KB5014669).

Among the usual bug fixes and performance tweaks, these updates also address the issues reported earlier this week regarding Wi-Fi hotspots. Last week, Microsoft explained how an earlier patch broke the feature.

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"When attempting to use the hotspot feature, the host device might lose the connection to the internet after a client device connects," Microsoft said.

The fix is great news for those affected by the flaw, but for the time being, only these three versions of the OS resolve the issue. Meanwhile, people using Windows 10 other than 1809, Windows 8.1, or Windows 7 SP1 will have to wait a bit longer (probably until the next Patch Tuesday).

VPN issues fixed too?

On June 14, Microsoft released KB5014697, a cumulative update that addresses a number of known Windows issues. However, the patch also introduced new flaws, namely issues with the sign-in process for Azure Active Directory, as well as Microsoft 365 on Arm devices (besides the Wi-Fi hotspot issue).

According to the Bleeping Computer, Microsoft still hasn’t acknowledged VPN and RDP connection issues that are plaguing RRAS servers following the June Windows Server updates. What’s more, people have also started reporting issues with LLTP/SSTP VPN clients, as well as RDP failing to connect.

Among the more troubling problems is servers simply freezing for minutes, after a client connects to the RRAS server with SSTP. Microsoft’s solution to the problem, as the company told the publication, is to temporarily disable the NAT feature on RRAS servers.

However, some admins are reporting that the latest raft of preview updates solve these VPN-related problems too, which suggests a widespread fix for all Windows operating systems could be imminent.

Via BleepingComputer



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Latest Gadgets News

The US technology industry is fearing the possibility of having to hand over pregnancy-related data to law enforcement, in the wake of the US Supreme Court's decision on the Roe vs Wade precedent.

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What You Need to Know Before Getting a Vasectomy - CNET

A vasectomy is a safe and effective form of family planning, but is it right for you?

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Latest Tech News

It's no secret that the anticipated AirPods Pro 2 Bluetooth earbuds will look almost exactly like the current version, but, according to a new leak, the same might not be said for the charging case.

Not only will it get relatively subtle design updates, but some impressive new audio features.

According to 52Audio, which appears to be outlining a multitude of details from what might be Apple's own internal, leaked documents, the AirPods Pro 2 will offer all the features of the current model, but add, as expected, more health-related chops, including heart rate and temperature sensors. The report doesn't offer any fresh detail about how these features might work, though it refers to what may be an updated H1 chip to support these and myriad other capabilities.

The more interesting rumors revolve around audio enhancement to the case. That's right, according to 52Audio, the AirPods Pro case gets some microphones in the base - on either side of the Lightning (or USB-C) port. The microphones might be designed to collect ambient sound and deliver it directly to the AirPods Pro 2 earbuds for an enhanced hearing aid experience.

There are other interesting, though less ear...um...earth-shattering potential changes to the case like a new speaker hole that works with Apple's Find My to make a sound when you're trying to locate the case. AirPods can already do this.

There's also a new cutout on the side of the case that looks like it's designed to support the introduction of an AirPods Pro case lanyard.

Most of these design changes align with previous leaks, though the latest rumors offer a bit more context for how the AirPods pro 2 might use these features.

Hear me, maybe

Obviously, these are all just rumors. Apple has yet to confirm the existence of the AirPods Pro 2, though it's highly likely Apple will introduce an upgrade for this hugely popular audio product.

The addition of hearing-aid capabilities not only in the AirPods Pros themselves but the case makes perfect sense. For Apple, wearables are natural health devices. Most of the big Apple Watch updates have revolved around health and fitness monitoring and motivations.

We'll be shocked if the AirPods Pro 2 do not include heartrate tracking, as the current model is already protected against sweat and is meant to be a walking and workout companion.

Are we upset that we won't get a fresh new look? Not really, especially not if the next generation can make such a potentially big difference in how we hear the world around us.

While you wait for whatever Apple brings next, check out this comparison of the best spatial audio devices.



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Latest Gadgets News

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the card-on-file (CoF) tokenisation deadline by three months, changing it from June 30 to September 30. This date has been pushed due to requests received from industry bodies. Card-on-file, or CoF, refers to card information stored by payment gateway and merchants to process future transactions.

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Latest Tech News

A new dongle has been developed to prevent cybercriminals from using HDMI ports as means of compromising target endpoints.

The so-called HDMI Firewall blocks all communication going in and out of the HDMI port that is not directly related to audio or video. Each HDMI port requires a new dongle, but one can easily be repurposed to fit different ports.

The dongle was designed by one “kingkevin”, who uploaded the project to source code repository CuVoodoo git.

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Switching dongles around

Admittedly, actually deploying the dongle would be no simple feat for someone without a fair amount of expertise.

To use the dongle, someone would first need to program it to fit the port it’s being applied to. That means copying the Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) information, including data like resolutions supported. Users can read this data with an I2C-based Display Data Channel (DDC) interface from the endpoint.

The next step is to write the EDID data into the EEPROM of the HDMI Firewall, which comes with a physically detachable protection tab that locks the connector’s EEPROM from future writes.

To move the dongle onto a new device, users need to disable write protection once again, by putting a solder blob across two pads on the device, rewrite it with the new port’s EDID data, and re-enable protection by removing the solder that connects the two pads. 

As explained by Tom’s Hardware, an HDMI connector allows for the passthrough of more than just audio and video data. A couple of parallel protocols are moving extra data through, including High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection, or HDCP. This protocol makes sure the data passing through the port isn’t copied in transit,

Other notable mentions include the Hot-Plug Detection (HPD), and Consumer Electronics Control (CEC). The latter is relatively popular, as it allows remote controls and other gadgets to control the devices. 

Via Tom's Hardware



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Thursday, June 23, 2022

Latest Gadgets News

Google has announced five new features for Chrome web browser on iPhone and iPad. The new features include enhanced Google Safe Browsing, AutoFill passwords on any application, and more. Google also said that more features to Chrome on iOS will come in the coming weeks.

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Mercury Shows Off in Spectacular New Spacecraft View - CNET

BepiColombo took a flyby of the closest planet to the sun.

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Latest Tech News

Password manager firm Keeper Security has announced a new feature it says will allow users to securely share records with anyone on a time-limited basis.

The new solution, dubbed Keeper One-Time Share, will be useful for those of us who want to share confidential information with a friend, family member or co-worker without exposing it over email, text message, or online messaging.

The news comes as concerns abound about employee approaches to sharing sensitive information. A multinational survey by Western Digital found 68% of data managers believe employee behaviour is a bigger threat to the security of their highly sensitive data than external hackers and various malicious actors.

How does it work?

Keeper Security assures us that One-Time Share links are restricted to the recipient’s device only and automatically expire at a time of the user’s choosing.

One-Time Share records can only be used on one device, and even if the user forgets to un-share the record, it will expire automatically, and the recipient’s access will be revoked.  The solution can also be used to share data with recipients who do not have a Keeper account.

In addition, One-Time Share can also be delivered using QR Codes, Airdrop, email, SMS, or other out-of-band channels.

As an additional layer of security, One-Time Shares are apparently also device-locked, which means that only the original recipient can access and decrypt the data.

If the link is later opened by a third party or the user’s email account is compromised, the data cannot be decrypted, except on the original recipient’s device even someone did manage to lay their hands on the relevant security keys.

Keeper Security isn't the only firm rolling out new features for its business password manager offering, however.

1Password recently released a new solution it claims will help firms improve their overall security posture.

Insights from 1Password contains tools to help firms monitor data breaches, password vulnerabilities, and team usage within shared vaults, while also providing suggested next steps and allowing businesses to notify employees of data breaches.

Keeper One-Time Share is currently available for all customers (both paid and free) as well as for commercial customers (including Business, Enterprise, and MSP plans).



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Latest Gadgets News

The government is not happy with the social media platforms who have failed to adequately redress the issues raised by the people, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Thursday. The Minister of State for Electronics and IT held an open house discussion with stakeholders on a draft notification to amend the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Dig...

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Latest Tech News

Following the launch of iOS 16 later this fall, you will no longer be able to use an iPad as a smart home hub to control HomeKit devices.

The news comes by way of iOS developer and MacRumors writer Steve Moser who dug through the code of iOS 16 Beta 2. He posted his findings on a long Twitter thread that goes through some of the other changes coming to Apple devices.  

iOS 16 changes

MacRumors reports that, upon updating an iPad to iOS 16, a new message will appear in the Home app that reads "A home hub is required to take advantage of features like receiving accessory notification and allowing other people to control your homes. You will not be able to view shared homes until those homes are also upgraded to the latest HomeKit. iPad will no longer be supported as a home hub here."

If you go over to the iOS 16 preview page and scroll all the way down to the finer print, Apple further confirms this by stating only Apple TVs and HomePod devices can be used as home hubs. We reached out to the tech giant and asked if they could explain their motive for removing the iPad support, but didn’t get a response. MacRumors suggests the change may have to do with the new Matter support.

Matter is an upcoming smart home standard being developed by multiple tech companies including Apple, Google, and Amazon. It’s meant to be a universal protocol aimed at saving the smart home industry. The standard is slated for release sometime during Fall 2022, which just so happens to be the same launch window as iOS 16. 

New features and changes

Apart from the iPad drop, the majority of changes are relatively minor. Moser states a lot of text will be tweaked. For example, Apple Car Key will now say “Passive entry may be available when your iPhone needs to be charged.” Certain apps, like Health, will have slightly different icons. It’s mainly tertiary stuff, but there are a few noteworthy additions. 

For starters, Apple Maps will be getting new optimized routes for e-bikes. There will also be a “Game Mode”, but not much is known beyond that. iOS 16 does natively support Nintendo Switch Pro controllers, so this mode may be connected to Apple’s newfound gaming support. Moser also found Apple is working on a 3:2 aspect ratio for the iPhone Camera app that hasn’t been enabled. He claims it could be an addition coming to a future iPhone.

Remember this is just a beta. It’s unknown if and when any of these will be coming out. Except for iPads losing home hub support; that appears to be set in stone. You can actually try out the new iOS 16 beta for iPhones and iPads by downloading it from Apple’s developer website. However, unless you are an app developer, we wouldn't recommend it. These early betas are buggy and not intended for the device you depend on for communication, work, entertainment, and more. The good news is that public (read "more stable") betas are probably just weeks away.

If you want to learn about how to establish a smart home, TechRadar has a guide on the best devices for 2022 to help you get started.



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Wednesday, June 22, 2022

What Are the Odds of a Recession and How Much Will It Hurt? Your Questions Answered - CNET

Recessions often follow a period of high inflation and low unemployment.

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What Novavax, the Newest COVID Vaccine, Could Mean for Future COVID Protection - CNET

The FDA is expected to authorize a fourth COVID-19 vaccine, but how it'll be used remains unclear.

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Here's the Best Way for Businesses to Save Big on Prime Day - CNET

The Amazon Business Prime American Express Card nets you the best rewards and financing options on Amazon.

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Best Prime Day AirPods Deals: Save $74 on AirPods Pro, $119 on AirPods Max and More - CNET

Ahead of Prime Day, Amazon is offering some great discounts on many AirPods models right now.

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Latest Tech News

At least two threat actors have recently been observed distributing malicious Windows shortcut files designed to infect victims with malware.

Late last week, cybersecurity researchers from Varonis reported seeing the dreaded Emotet threat actor, as well as the lesser-known Golden Chickens group (AKA Venom Spider), distributing .ZIP archives via email, and in those archives, .LNK files.

Using Windows shortcut files to deploy malware or ransomware on the target endpoint is not exactly novel, but these threat actors have given the idea a brand new spin. 

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Shortcuts posing as PDF files

The majority of older readers are probably guilty of customizing their game desktop shortcuts in the past, at least on one occasion.

In this particular campaign, the threat actors replaced the original shortcut icon with that of a .PDF file, so that the unsuspecting victim, once they receive the email attachment, can’t spot the difference with a basic visual inspection.

But the danger is real. Windows shortcut files can be used to drop pretty much any malware onto the target endpoint, and in this scenario, the Emotet payload is downloaded into the victim’s %TEMP% directory. If successful, the Emotet payload will be loaded into memory using “regsvr32.exe”, while the original dropper gets deleted from the %TEMP% directory.

The best way to protect against these attacks, researchers are saying, is to thoroughly inspect every email attachment coming in, and to quarantine and block any suspicious content (that includes ZIP-compressed files with Windows shortcuts).

Admins should also restrict the execution of unexpected binaries and scripts from the %TEMP% directory, and limit user access to Windows scripting engines such as PowerShell and VBScript. They should also enforce the need for scripts to be signed via Group Policy.



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Latest Gadgets News

Google has agreed to pay Wikipedia for content displayed by its search engine. The new announcement mirrors Google's deal with news outlets in Europe.

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Best Credit Cards for Restaurants for June 2022 - CNET

Inflation is taking a bite out of everyone's budgets, but these restaurant credit cards will help you get a bite to eat.

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TP-Link Deco W7200 Mesh Router Review: The One You've Been Waiting For - CNET

TP-Link wins our Editors' Choice Award for offering fast speeds and terrific mesh performance at an unbeatable price.

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Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Latest Gadgets News

Nokia X21 5G and a new G-series smartphone renders have leaked online along with some specifications. The Nokia X21 5G can be seen in black colour, while the G-series smartphone is in green with a textured back. The G-series smartphone can be seen with a triple rear camera setup with a flash.

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Latest Gadgets News

Microsoft has announced to stop selling the facial recognition tool that enables people to guess someone's emotion based on a facial image. Existing customers will have one year before losing access to artificial intelligence tools.

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Latest Gadgets News

Tesla's CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the company will soon see a 10 percent cut in salaried staff at the electric car maker over three months. He also predicted a US recession was more likely than not.

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Master & Dynamic's MW75 Headphones: Hands-On With the Latest AirPods Max Competitor - CNET

At $599, the MW75 noise-canceling headphones certainly have a premium price tag. But they've got a sweet design and deliver top-notch sound.

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Latest Tech News

Android smartphone and tablet users are set to get a neat new way to ensure they never lose track of all their important passwords.

As spotted by 9to5Google, Android users will now be able to add a shortcut for the Google Password Manager tool directly onto their device's home screen.

As suggested in the name, this password manager service is able to keep track of all your login information in a single safe and secure location - and is now available directly from your device's home screen.

Android password manager

Google Password Manager tool has been available for Android users for some years now, as well as being part of the Chrome browser and in a user's Google web account.

The new feature lets users access their saved data using their existing biometrics or screen lock security protection on their device, as opposed to entering a password as is the case with the web version.

The password manager is able to save and store all your details, including usernames and passwords, allowing you to keep track of any issues or security risks, as well as allowing users to modify any details where needed.

The shortcut is available after downloading the latest Google Play Services update (version 22.18 or newer), which should be available as a default for Android users.

Once that's done, you can access Password Manager by opening Settings > Privacy > Autofill service from Google > Passwords.

This page now includes an option to Add shortcut to your home screen, which will open a menu with the shortcut, which can be dragged wherever you want on your home screen.

The news comes shortly after Google added the ability to store notes alongside your passwords, with a new "Notes” field underneath the username and password fields when adding a new password or when you go to edit an existing password.



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Latest Gadgets News

Xiaomi is going to launch a new smartwatch, as per a report. The new wearable, said to be launched as Xiaomi Watch Color 3, has reportedly been spotted on China’s 3C certification website. The wearable has been tipped to not get eSIM support. Other details about the rumoured smartwatch are still unknown.

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Latest Tech News

While it's no secret that Battlefield 2042 had a rough launch, developer DICE is sticking it out. For the time being it will be working only Battlefield 2042 and no other projects, such as games like Mirror's Edge. 

"We are only focusing on Battlefield 2042," Coutaz told GI.Biz. "There is no time for anything else and this is what we want to do. In three years, we want to be the first-person shooter powerhouse that DICE deserves to be, and that is what we’re going for."  

DICE is best known for the Battlefield series but since being acquired by EA in 2006, it's occasionally branched out. Alongside Mirror's Edge, its past ventures also include Medal of Honor (2010), the rebooted Star Wars Battlefront series, Mirror's Edge, and its less well-received sequel Mirror's Edge Catalyst. While Coutaz doesn't deny the studio will return to other projects in the future, we shouldn't expect anything anytime soon. 

A Specialist in Battlefield 2042 holding a crossbow

(Image credit: EA)

Cause for reflection

Coutaz finds herself in an odd position, having joined last December after Battlefield 2042's launch, and now being responsible for getting the game back on track. Still, this interview shows she's taking clear responsibility, reflecting on the post-launch mood in DICE.

"The launch of Battlefield 2042 was not as expected," Coutaz explains. "Our players and community were disappointed, but so was our development team." Admitting that quitting the game was never an option, DICE sought the help of EA's other studios to assess what went wrong, and how to fix it.

"That analysis took us a couple of months, and we are now fixing it," Coutaz continues. "We're getting reorganized, restructured, improving processes, adapting them to be able to make these monster games that we are making in co-development... and also working in the hybrid model." 

She admits "it's far from perfect and we have many things still to learn" but on the whole, Coutaz paints a more optimistic picture for the game's future. With the previously delayed Battlefield 2042 Season 1 launching two weeks ago, maybe things will finally turn around for DICE's latest effort. 



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Monday, June 20, 2022

Latest Gadgets News

Redmi Note 10S prices in India has been reduced for all storage variants. The smartphone comes in three variants, 6GB RAM + 64GB inbuilt storage, 6GB RAM + 128GB inbuilt storage, and 8GB RAM + 128GB inbuilt storage. The smartphone was first launched in India in May 2021 with a quad rear camera setup.

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Yes, You Can Use Solar Power as a Renter - CNET

You don't need to own your home to start adopting solar energy.

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Latest Gadgets News

Intel has filed a claim for EUR 593 million (nearly $624 million or Rs. 4,800 crore) in interest from the European Commission, five months after its scrap a EUR 1.06 billion (nearly Rs. 8,600 crore) EU antitrust fine was scraped in a court in Europe. Intel said its claim is based on an interest rate equivalent to the European Central Bank's refinancing rate of 1.25 pe...

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Grab Samsung's Latest Galaxy S22 for as Low as $100 Right Now - CNET

With Samsung's current promotions, you can get double the storage for free and save up to $700 when you trade in your old device.

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Latest Tech News

Kioxia, the company formerly known as Toshiba, has started to ship a new storage device based on a new form factor, XFMEXPRESS, which aims to bring the best of both SSD and microSD worlds.

The XT2 is a removable PCIe attached NVMe storage device which, according to Kioxia’s marketing literature, will “enhance next-generation mobile and embedded applications”.

The technology - which is three years in the making - is removable like a microSD card, with dimensions (18 x 14 x 1.4mm) slightly bigger than the latter (14 x 11 x 1mm). Its connector is similar to what smartphones use for nano SIM cards, requiring the cover to be slid aside to access the card.

A spokesperson for the company told TechRadar Pro that the XT2 will be priced competitively with other SSD form factors of similar performance and will be offered in capacities ranging from 128GB to 1TB. As for speeds, given that it comes with PCIe Gen 4 x 2 lanes, sequential reads and writes should exceed 2500Mbps and 650Mbps respectively.

A rival to microSD?

Don’t expect XFMExpress to replace microSD any time soon, even if demand for the tiny cards has taken a downward trajectory as mainstream smartphones abandon removable storage altogether.

There’s also the conundrum associated with rival format SD Express, which is also a PCIe NVMe standard, which can reach up to 4GBps, offers advanced security features and is backed by the SD association.

Which brings us to the question of whether the market needs another new form factor, when the existing incumbent benefits from bigger market support, better performance, minimal retooling and enhanced security. We’ve put that question to Kioxia and will update the article when we hear back.

As for use cases that require high performance, high capacity storage, there’s plenty (e.g. prosumer cameras, IoT/edge servers etc.), but they are likely to be niche and unlikely to sustain a market where rival formats exist.



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Latest Tech News

Windows 11 users are set for a newly spiced up search function with the latest round of updates.

The new “Search Highlights” feature promises to “present notable and interesting moments of what's special about each day – like holidays, anniversaries, and other educational moments in time both globally and in your region” via clicking or tapping on the taskbar.

The feature could be good news for those of us on business computers and business laptops, who might need a little bit of extra help to avoid forgetting an all-important colleague’s birthday.

Windows 11 search

The feature is set to roll out via a "phased and measured" approach over the next few weeks and months to Windows 11 users.

The feature was rolled out to Windows 10 users in March 2022, and is available in Windows 11 version 22H2, which you can test out if you’re lucky enough to be a Windows Insider.

The new feature will also allow users to explore additional content inside the search home, including “word of the day”, Microsoft Rewards offers, and trending searches.

The left side of the search home will also show an extended list of your recently launched apps, files, settings, and websites to help users get back to what they were doing last.

If you’re not a big fan of the feature, not a problem - users can remove the feature by going to “Privacy & Security”, then heading to “More Settings”, and then deselecting “Show search highlights”.

There are also additional controls available for organizational administrators, which you can check out by heading here.

Microsoft has been active in terms of rolling out new services for developers on Windows.

Microsoft Dev Box will give developers self-service access to high performance, cloud-based workstations that are pre-configured and ready-to-code for specific projects, benefiting devs that don’t have access to powerful mobile workstations.



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Sunday, June 19, 2022

iOS 16 May Be Giving Us Clues to the iPhone 14 - CNET

Commentary: Apple's next iPhone is likely still months away, but iOS 16 might be dropping hints about what's coming.

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COVID Vaccines for Children Under 5: What Parents Need to Know - CNET

Children as young as 6 months old have been approved for vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.

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Can Turning Off Lights Actually Save You Money? We Do the Math - CNET

This small (and simple) change can lower your electric bill. Here's why.

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Most People Put Their Router in the Wrong Place (and Wi-Fi Speed Suffers) - CNET

There's an easy fix for better Wi-Fi. Try these five tips to find the best place for your router.

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Oven Not Heating Up? Try These DIY Solutions to Get It Cooking Again - CNET

You might not need to hire repair services after all.

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Saturday, June 18, 2022

Yes, You Can Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time - CNET

Instead of focusing on just weight loss, body recomposition will burn fat and build muscle mass -- simultaneously.

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CDC Advisers Recommend COVID Vaccines for Kids as Young as 6 Months Old - CNET

Very young children may be able to start receiving shots early next week.

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HBO Max: The 40 Best TV Shows to Watch - CNET

Check out season 3 of the dark comedy series Barry and see what else is available on HBO Max.

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If You Liked Stranger Things, You'll Love These 16 Movies - CNET

Like sci-fi, mystery and horror? You've arrived at the right place.

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Why We Dream and What It Means, According to Sleep Experts - CNET

Do your dreams have meanings? What it might mean if you dream about fire, death, falling, flying and more.

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That Thing You Like Is Being Rebooted. Guess It's Time To Feel Something - CNET

Married With Children. Bullitt. The Man Who Fell To Earth. King of the Hill. Quantum Leap. Those things you used to watch are coming back so we can all just feel something.

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Prime Video: The 49 Best TV Shows to Watch - CNET

New original series The Summer I Turned Pretty and The Lake debuted on Prime Video yesterday. Check them out, and peruse a list of the best shows on the streamer.

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Friday, June 17, 2022

Latest Tech News

A hugely popular forms builder plugin for the WordPress website builder with more than a million installations is vulnerable to a high-severity flaw that could allow threat actors complete website takeover.

Ninja Forms has recently released a new patch, which when reverse-engineered, included a code injection vulnerability that affected all versions from 3.0 upwards.

According to Wordfence threat intelligence lead Chloe Chamberland, remotely executing code via deserialization allows threat actors to completely take over a vulnerable site.

Share your thoughts on Cybersecurity and get a free copy of the Hacker's Manual 2022. Help us find how businesses are preparing for the post-Covid world and the implications of these activities on their cybersecurity plans. Enter your email at the end of this survey to get the bookazine, worth $10.99/£10.99.

Evidence of abuse

"We uncovered a code injection vulnerability that made it possible for unauthenticated attackers to call a limited number of methods in various Ninja Forms classes, including a method that unserialized user-supplied content, resulting in Object Injection," Chamberland said.

"This could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or delete arbitrary files on sites where a separate POP chain was present."

To make things even worse, the flaw was observed being abused in the wild, Wordfence further found.

The patch was force-pushed to the majority of the affected sites, BleepingComputer further found. Looking at the download statistics for the patch, more than 730,000 websites have already been patched. While the number is encouraging, it still leaves hundreds of thousands of vulnerable sites.

Those that use Ninja Forms and haven’t updated it yet, should apply the fix manually, as soon as possible. That can be done from the dashboard, and admins should make sure their plugin is updated to version 3.6.11.

This is not the first time a high-severity flaw was found in Ninja Forms. Roughly two years ago, all versions of the plugin up to 3.4.24.2 were found to have been affected by the Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability. This one could have been used to launch Stored Cross-Site Scripting (Stored XSS) attacks on user's WordPress sites, essentially taking them over.

Via: BleepingComputer



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Monkeypox Rash May Not Be So Obvious, According to the CDC - CNET

There are 100 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the US, CDC reporting shows, and some people may experience less "classic" monkeypox symptoms. Here's what we know.

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This Is the Best Way to Pack a Suitcase - CNET

Folding, rolling or packing cubes? We tested all three methods to find the best one.

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Nintendo Switch Online: Pokemon Snap Joins Retro Game Library Next Week - CNET

The subscription service gives you access to a wide selection of classic games, along with online gaming and other perks. It'll add the Nintendo 64 Pokemon photography adventure next Friday, June 24.

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Julian Assange US Extradition Given Green Light by UK Home Secretary - CNET

The WikiLeaks founder is one step closer to being extradited on espionage charges.

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Get This Super-Bright Mini Flashlight for Just $5 - CNET

This keychain flashlight is great for camping and emergency power outages. And yes, batteries are included.

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Latest Tech News

Body detection security features may be coming to a Chromebook near you.

A recently discovered page on the Chromium Gerrit website reveals that body detection features are being worked on for a Chromebook laptop with the code name, “Crota”. Gerrit is a collaboration tool for software developers to come in and review each other’s work, and in this case, Google’s Chromium projects. 

Google has expressed interest in the past with “integrated sensor technologies for more personalized experiences” and body detection could be the fruits of that labor.

Not much is known about how Google plans for implementing this security feature or how robust it will be. We did contact Google to see if it would like to make a comment about this project or provide information about it, and will update this post if it responds. However, we can look at other examples of body detection and paint a picture of what Google might be doing.

Advancements in security

Body detection, which is sometimes referred to as human presence detection, is a feature that allows a device to see if a person is standing right in front of it. You can see a demonstration of this technology on YouTube by Lattice Semiconductor. It shows a computer detecting multiple men in front of its camera.

This technology is mainly used for security or quick logins via facial recognition. For example, Lenovo has body detection in several of its laptops like the ThinkPad X1 Nano where it will lock the computer if its user walks or turns away from the screen. Some ThinkPad models sport PrivacyGuard which alerts you if someone is peeking over your shoulder and looking at your screen.

For quick logins, body detection already exists in the form of biometric security. Many phones have fingerprint recognition readers on their backs. And there are laptops out there, like the Surface Pro 8, that support facial recognition via Windows Hello. Not only that, Chromebooks with face unlocking have been teased for about three years now.

It’s also worth pointing out that specialist website Chrome Unboxed has reported in the past that Google is also working on adding “snooping detection” for Chrome OS.

Potential manufacturer

Further details regarding “Crota” hardware are unknown. No one even knows who the manufacturer will be, but it could be Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Wistron. You can see evidence of this if you look at the Gerrit page for the body detection feature, which has an email from Wistron listed in the “signed-off-by” row. 

Chrome Unboxed claims that if Wistron is listed that could mean that Dell is involved according to past Chromium Gerrit pages, but this is circumstantial evidence at best. We won’t know until more information is uncovered or leaked. If you’re interested in Chromebooks, TechRadar recently published a list of the best ones for 2022.  



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Latest Tech News

You're sitting comfortably watching TV at home when there is a knock at the door. You answer it to find a police officer with a warrant for your arrest for money laundering.

Despite your protestations and obvious innocence, there is a problem: your digital fingerprints are all over the case. How can this be?

Welcome to the world of ID fraud, the inevitable consequence of identity theft

What Is ID Fraud?

Identity fraud (commonly labeled ID fraud) is when a stolen identity is used to commit fraud. In most cases, ID fraud is a financial crime; it takes advantage of the victim's financial position to take out loans and other credit lines in their name. 

ID fraud also occasionally relies on impersonation. Thanks to the mass identity theft industry that has sprung up around the internet, impersonation is rare these days. Thanks to the number of ways credit can be applied online, it's largely unnecessary.

ID fraud is often accompanied by money laundering. For example, goods might be paid for using the victim's money, delivered to an address managed by the thief, then sold on.

How They Steal Your Identity

Before ID fraud can be committed, identity theft must first occur. But how do these criminals get their hands on your data?

(Image credit: wk1003mike / Shutterstock )

Phishing 

Perhaps the number one reason behind identity theft is the double-pronged attack of phishing and spoofing websites.

The play is simple: you receive a message via email, SMS, or instant, complete with a link you're supposed to click. So it might be for a bank, credit card, or a dating site in the case of instant messaging. 

Following the link takes you to an actual copy (a spoof) of the related website. You're asked to log in or confirm some details. These are recorded by scammers and used to steal your identity. 

This scam can also be conducted over the phone. For example, an unsolicited caller claims to be from your bank and asks you to confirm your login details; these are then used to conduct ID fraud. The fraudster might even record the call to play back to an automated login service to gain access.

Bag-snatching

The contents of your bag, purse, or wallet can provide easy pickings for an ID thief. Credit cards, debit cards, your phone, and Social Security card can all deliver what the identity thief is looking for.

To stay safe, only take the cards you need. Wear your bag securely across your body, and keep cards, wallets, purses, and everything else out of sight and reach. Remove cards only when paying for goods.

Shoulder surfing

While paying for those goods, be sure to check the proximity of those around you. If a PIN is required at the checkout or an ATM, anyone paying attention can spot what the code is. All it takes then is for your card to be stolen and the PIN used by the ID thief. 

Cover your PIN as it is entered to keep the code a secret.

Physical document theft and "dumpster diving"

You must shred old bank statements and letters from your bank or card company. Any personally identifiable paperwork should also be shredded. The reason? All it takes is someone to go through your bins and find valid old documents for your identity to be stolen. 

Known as "dumpster diving," this is a tried and tested method to succeed at identity theft. The best solution is to shred your documents, ID cards, and old passports.

The alternative is simply breaking into your home and stealing important documents. Keep bank records, passports, and other identifying documents locked away to combat this.

Social media images

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Oversharing on social media

Have you ever shared too much on Facebook? Unfortunately, the answer is probably "yes." From photos of days out, to where you live, when you're at work, on holiday… it's oversharing. And with the wrong privacy settings set, anyone can learn everything there is to know about you. 

Worse, by observing your activity on Facebook, a daily pattern emerges. Criminals could use this to determine when to visit your home and steal those vital documents that you still haven't locked away.

While Facebook oversharing is the main culprit, any social network that encourages you to share every aspect of your life should be used less.

Saving your credit card number online

If you shop online with stores like Amazon, there is a good chance that you will save your credit card details in your account. This saves time at the checkout, helping to reduce the time spent shopping. It also keeps you from finding your wallet, getting the card out, then inputting the 16-digit number, your name, and the CVV2 code on the back.

But saving your credit card online can be risky. All it takes is for the online store to be hacked. In addition, if your data isn't stored in an encrypted form, your credit card details are up for grabs. With those, credit card fraud or complete ID fraud can take place.

Take Identity Theft Seriously

Your life is literally out of your hands if you don't take steps to ensure the security of your accounts. But you don't need to feel afraid of this. Treat digital security as you would the safety of your home or car. You lock doors and windows, fit an immobilizer, and maybe an alarm. 

Universal vigilance is required to avoid the tricks and traps set by scammers. Thankfully, you can take many of the same steps. For example, lock your accounts with two-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized access. Set up SMS or email alerts to inform you when spending gets out of control. And sign up for credit monitoring services to catch any new accounts that might have been created in your name.

The critical takeaway is to take identity theft seriously, or else ID fraud will undoubtedly occur.



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Thursday, June 16, 2022

Latest Tech News

Identity fraud is a considerable risk that we live with daily. Unfortunately, like death and taxes, it is inevitable, and while you can take every step to protect your data at home, your bank is always possible to get hacked.

So, what happens if your ID has been stolen? How can you tell if you are a victim of ID fraud? And what happens next?

Your ID might have already been stolen

There is a strong chance that your ID has already been stolen. Over the years, a large number of data breaches have resulted in millions of records of data being leaked on the internet. Bank details, PayPal accounts, social media logins, mortgage applications, even medical records - pretty much every type of data you can think of has been leaked. These events occur thanks to hackers finding vulnerabilities in data servers, exploiting these, and reaping the rewards.

Meanwhile, there's the risk of phishing from emails, SMS, and instant messaging. With one wrong click, you're taken to a spoofed website designed to look like a bank or online store, and you end up submitting your details to a scammer.

On top of this, you have the problem of targeted theft, either via purse snatching, dumpster diving (for discarded bank statements and letters), or even direct theft of your documents.

In terms of being involved with a data breach, you can check this by visiting Have I Been Pwned. Enter your email address (check them all if you have more than one) to see if your records have been leaked.

Then change your password.

With regards to ID theft overall, let's take it as read that your identity has been stolen somehow. What happens next?

How to tell if you are an ID fraud victim

We live with the permanent risk of ID fraud. You might not even know if you're a victim. Usually, though, you'll find out when it's too late to do anything about it.

Warning signs of ID fraud include:

  • Unexplained credit or debit card charges
  • Missing statements
  • Declined credit card
  • Refusal of a new loan
  • Calls from debt collectors

Other tell-tale signs include the arrival of strange packages (the fraudsters planning to collect them before you spot them on your doorstep, perhaps) and your social media accounts - particularly Facebook - taken over.

The impact of ID fraud is almost always devastating. 

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Sapann Design)

What happens when someone steals your identity?

Usually, identity theft occurs wholly online. First, your records are traded and available to crime groups to browse, like a catalog, on the Dark Web. Then, with massive databases available to search for likely targets, automation is used to simultaneously target thousands of potential victims at once. This is how phishing operations work. 

However, there are occasions when identity theft happens offline or data gathered from the internet is used in a physical context. For example, rather than pose as you online, an identity thief may claim to be you at a bank or use your details to try and buy a car (perhaps with the help of a counterfeit driving license).

The end game is always to get as much money as possible, as quickly as possible, before moving on, leaving you none the wiser. It is unusual for ID fraud to occur over more than a few weeks - after all, once the credit card statements arrive, the game is up. However, targeted identity theft can occur over a more extended period, particularly for high-income "marks."

Whatever the intricacies of the case, identity theft is highly distressing. Finances are left in tatters, reputations potentially ruined. Long-standing relationships, and marriages, have been damaged and worse by identity theft.

Overcoming identity theft

There are two sides to coping with identity theft:

  • Rebuilding your finances
  • Dealing with the emotional impact

Getting your finances back on track is perhaps the most straightforward. Banks, credit card companies, and other creditors have procedures to deal with victims. 

  1. Contact your banking company (and other creditors) to report missing cards and fraudulent activity. 
  2. Contact credit reference agencies such as Equifax and Experian. They can place an ID fraud alert on your reports.
  3. Victims in the USA should contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to complete the Identity Theft Affidavit and receive verification of the ID theft. 
  4. UK victims can contact Action Fraud.
  5. Contact your local police force to report the theft when physical documents have been stolen.

If you have been a victim of ID theft, you should not be liable for the stolen money. ID theft mustn't be down to your own mistakes, which is why it is vital to maintain reasonable security practices. 

The emotional impact of identity theft is another matter entirely. 

Fortunately, you're not alone. Several services are available for you to contact to help you come to terms with the upheaval that ID fraud places on your life.

US readers can get in touch with American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC), which specializes in financial education and related services.

If you're in the UK, seek counseling using the Counseling Directory. The Citizens Advice Bureau is also helpful, although its advice may be more instructive than comforting. 

(Image credit: Pixabay)

Do not let ID fraud ruin your life

We're almost all victims of identity theft, but not all of us have been hit by identity fraud. Perhaps you've had your credit card stolen or misused - this is bad enough but pales in comparison with the effects of identity fraud.

If you've been an ID fraud victim, you know how much work is required to deal with the crime. There are forms to fill out, phone calls, and weeks of uncertainty. Will the money be refunded? Will the perpetrators be caught? Can you handle the upheaval?

ID fraud might turn your life upside down. Please take advantage of every law enforcement service, banking action line, and counseling resource to help you report, resolve, and get through it.



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