Latest Tech News

Samsung has verified it has achieved an 8.5 Gigabit per second (Gbps) transfer speed via its 14-nanometer (nm) LPDDR5X DRAM on Qualcomm's Snapdragon platform, a combo that's likely to find its way in the next Samsung Galaxy S23 range expected to be unveiled in 2023.

The Korean electronics giant claims this gives it the fastest transfer speeds available in the mobile industry. 

DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) is a type of semiconductor memory located close to a processor, which can provide faster access to data than when compared to storage media such as hard disk drives and solid-state drives.

What does this mean for consumers?

Samsung has previously gone on record as saying its LPDDR5X DRAM, released in November 2021, is expected to help in high-speed data service applications including 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), and the metaverse.

“The joint validation of 8.5Gbps LPDDR5X DRAM has enabled us to accelerate market-wide availability of this high-speed memory interface by more than a year, which is a tremendous accomplishment made possible through our long-standing collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies," said Daniel Lee, Executive Vice President of the Memory Product Planning Team at Samsung Electronics.

“As LPDDR memory continues to broaden its usage beyond smartphones into AI and data center applications, strong collaboration between memory and SoC vendors is becoming all the more important," he added.

The integration will, "enhance user experiences with new features and improved performance for mobile, gaming, camera, and AI applications," noted Ziad Asghar, Vice President of Product Management at Qualcomm.

This isn’t the first time that Samsung has smashed its own record, it surpassed the previous maximum transfer speed of 7.5Gbps which it achieved in March 2022.

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Close ties between the two hardware giants could prove beneficial for Samsung.  Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor remains one of the most popular in the mobile industry, the brand controls around 29% of the mobile processor market, below the 39% share held by Mediatek, but well above above the 14% owned by Apple.

• Interested in achieving next level speeds for your other devices? Check out our guide to the best RAM 

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Latest Tech News

Microsoft is set to make some serious job cuts across multiple divisions, reports have claimed..

An anonymous source speaking to Axios pegged the figure at around 1,000 jobs, although the company has yet to officially confirm the news just yet.

This isn't the first report we've seen of Microsoft trimming down its employee count in recent months; in July 2022 the software giant confirmed that it cut around 1% of its total headcount.

What's driving the lay offs?

In response to the news, Microsoft declined to provide reasons for the actions. 

“Like all companies, we evaluate our business priorities on a regular basis, and make structural adjustments accordingly," it told Axios. "We will continue to invest in our business and hire in key growth areas in the year ahead."

Microsoft is set to announce its latest earnings on October 25, and  although it remains immensely profitable, this success isn't being shared equally among different business divisions.

The company's revenues increased 18% in Q3 2022 while net income jumped 8% year-over-year, to $49.4 billion and $16.7 billion respectively. The company's cloud division was disproportionally successful and posted a 32% revenue growth to $23.4 billion.

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But's not just Microsoft that is cutting staff, with several other tech giants also following suit.

Salesforce has recently reportedly laid off about 90 employees, its first round of layoffs since 2020.

In addition, companies including Meta, Google, Apple, Twitter, and Amazon have all announced hiring freezes so far in 2022.

The software giant's shares are down around 30% this year, broadly in line with the rest of the tech-heavy NASDAQ stock index.

• Looking for for next career move Checkout our guide to the best job search tools 

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Latest Tech News

Google is hoping to expand its stake in the software industry with the launch of  KataOS, a new OS for machine learning tools.

Described in a company blog post as, "a provably secure platform that's optimized for embedded devices that run ML applications", KataOS will run alongside its reference implementation, Sparrow.

Most computer users will be accustomed to the Windows and macOS operating systems, while pro users have been left to source their favourite Linux distro for more specific operations.

Google announces KataOS and Sparrow

In its announcement, the company stated the importance of being able to build “verifiably secure systems for embedded hardware” as smart devices become more commonplace. 

Google says that our personally identifiable data - like images and voice recordings - could be at risk if the devices can’t be mathematically proven to keep data secure.

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While there’s “plenty left to do”, Google has still confirmed some details about the upcoming KataOS. In the past, the company has favored the Carbon and C++ programming languages, however its new project is “written almost entirely in Rust”, according to its related GitHub page. 

The Register takes a closer look at the underlying seL4 microkernel, which is usually implemented in C. The article explains how CAmkES, which uses Haskell and Python, comes into play as an “abstraction layer to join the C and Rust layers together.” 

Google sees this as the first step in a “future where intelligent ambient ML systems are always trustworthy.” 

Moving forward, the company hopes to open source all of Sparrow - both hardware and software.

• Check out the best student Chromebooks

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Latest Tech News

Ducktail, a known phishing campaign that hijacks Facebook accounts running advertising campaigns for businesses, is now distributing a brand new infostealer malware.

According to researchers at according to Zscaler, Ducktail previously used LinkedIn to distribute a piece of malware written in .NET Core that would steal Facebook Business account data stored in a web browser and exfiltrate it into a private Telegram channel which acted as the malware’s command & control server (C2), communicating with target systems to coordinate cyberattacks.

Now, however, Ducktail has been spotted distributing a new malware variant that can not only steal Facebook-adjacent data, but also other sensitive data stored in browsers, such as data related to cryptocurrency wallets, account information, and basic system data. 

Stealing browser data

The C2 has also been changed - the data no longer goes to a Telegram channel, but rather to a JSON website that also stores account tokens and other data needed for on-device fraud.

Zscaler also claimed that the malware is being shared as an archive file uploaded to a legitimate file hosting service. The attackers, they say, made sure that the malware doesn’t get flagged by antivirus software by only loading in memory.

Users can mitigate the damage caused by Ducktail and other malware by switching to an anonymous browser, or simply making sure not to save sensitive information in their browser of choice.

This is especially important because, if malware compromises an endpoint with a Facebook Business account, they may search for additional sensitive financial details such as PayPal data. This includes amounts spent on certain purchases, verification statuses, and more.

Read more

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In most cases, attackers using malware try to trick people into downloading it by presenting it as movie subtitle files, adult content, or cracks for illegitimate software.

While it’s true that Ducktail’s new infostealer could be evading antivirus software, software that comes with in-built web protection could still be of help against it by blocking access to suspicious sites that may be carrying it.

• Here's our rundown of the best ID theft protection right now

Via: BleepingComputer

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Latest Tech News

PayPal is launching a new rewards program to help people find deals on the internet and save money with the company's Honey acquisition at its core.

Honey is a browser extension that scours the internet looking for deals, promo codes, or coupons for online retailers (and a popular YouTube channel sponsor). PayPal bought the developer behind Honey back in early 2020, but didn’t really do much with it until today. Now with the aptly named PayPal Rewards, aspects of Honey will serve as the foundation for the new program. The company states its motivation behind the PayPal Rewards is to help people “navigate high prices [as we head] into the holiday shopping season.”  

Discounts and rewards

PayPal Rewards has been given its own in-app hub on mobile devices and desktop where you can track the points you collect. Those points can be earned by either engaging with the official app or using the Honey browser extension to find discounts.

In turn, points can be redeemed for “cash back and other rewards".  However, it appears those other rewards are simply more points added to your account. It doesn't look like PayPal will be utilizing Honey Gold, which offers additional savings on purchases. Speaking of which, customers who are a part of Honey Gold can link their account to PayPal and use those points on the new program.

A company representative told us that 100 points equals $1 USD. That money will appear on your PayPal balance where it can be transferred over to a bank account, sent to someone else via peer-to-peer payment, or donated to charity. 

The new program is currently rolling out to users in the United States so we highly recommend updating your PayPal app if you're interested. When asked about expanding PayPal Rewards globally, the same representative told us there are no plans to grow at the moment. There are plans to include PayPal Card products like the debit card into the Rewards program, but no date for that was given.

Future of online payment

The launch of PayPal Rewards comes at a really interesting time, and not because of the holiday season. It appears the company is seeing the writing on the wall when it comes to the future of online payment tech: providing your customers with deals and discounts. Apple saw this coming, too: when it revitalized its Pay app, it included a Pay Later feature giving people a new option for purchasing. Instead of paying for something in full, you can use Pay Later to create a payment plan that’s more budget friendly. 

Google also recently brought back its old Wallet app, but didn’t add any discount finder tool. Instead it focuses more on providing convenience and security. Perhaps PayPal Rewards will give the long running platform the edge it needs over its rivals.

If you’re looking for an alternative to PayPal, we recommend checking out TechRadar’s money transfer apps list for 2022, which was recently updated.  

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Latest Tech News

Spotting exactly where your last presentation went off the rails could soon be a lot easier thanks to a new Google Docs update.

The company has revealed that users of its word processor are now able to transcribe a Google Meet call directly into a Google Docs file, meaning you'll never lose the information you need.

"Meeting transcripts automatically capture the meeting discussion, making it easier to follow up afterward or serve as a record," the company noted in a Google Workspace update blog post announcing the feature.

Google Meet transcribe to Docs

The feature will be on by default, with attendees seeing a notification telling them that transcripts are active before joining the call.

Once complete, the transcribed file will be saved in the host's “Meet Recordings” folder in Google Drive, similar to meeting recordings. 

For meetings with fewer than or equal to 200 invitees, the meeting host, co-hosts, or the transcript initiator will receive a link to the transcription document via email after the meeting ends. Additionally, the transcript will automatically be attached to the associated calendar invite for the meeting. 

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For larger video conferencing meetings (those with more than 200 attendees), the transcription will only be shared with the meeting organizers, host, and co-hosts, and individual users who have requested it. For recurring meetings, new transcription documents will be continually added to the Calendar invite. 

Available now for Google Meet users on desktop and laptop, but only in English for the time being, it will be on offer for Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers .

However users with personal Google accounts, nor those on Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Education Standard, Enterprise Essentials, Education Fundamentals, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers, will not be able to use it just yet.

Google Meet also recently made it easier to share your video feed, meaning starting up online presentations or kicking off team meetings should soon involve a lot less stress, and also allow all participants to be able to share their own video feed with everyone else.

• We've also rounded up the best business webcams arund

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