Protecting your privacy in the modern age isn’t easy, with everything from app labels to online cookies to think about, but knowing what the apps on your devices are up to has to be one of your top priorities—and in particular, you’ll want to know which apps are using the camera, the microphone, and the location…
Source: Gizmodo – See Which Apps Are Using Your Camera, Microphone, and Location
Law enforcement officials in the Netherlands are in the process of delivering an Emotet update that will remove the malware from all infected computers on March 25, 2021, ZDNet has learned today. From a report: The update was made possible after law enforcement agencies from across eight countries orchestrated a coordinated takedown this week to seize servers and arrest individuals behind Emotet, considered today’s largest malware botnet. While servers were located across multiple countries, Dutch officials said that two of three of Emotet’s primary command and control (C&C) servers were located inside its borders. Dutch police officials said today they used their access to these two crucial servers to deploy a boobytrapped Emotet update to all infected hosts. According to public reports, also confirmed by ZDNet with two cyber-security firms that have historically tracked Emotet operations, this update contains a time-bomb-like code that will uninstall the Emotet malware on March 25, 2021, at 12:00, the local time of each computer.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Authorities Plan To Mass-Uninstall Emotet From Infected Hosts on March 25
People on Twitter have been commiserating recently about how much higher their free Credit Karma credit scores are compared to the ones lenders actually use, as many have learned that their “excellent” credit is merely good, or worse.
Source: LifeHacker – Why Your Credit Karma Score Seems Too High
CD Projekt Red has whacked the latest mole it inadvertently added to Cyberpunk 2077. Following last week’s major update, some players found that they were unable to progress past a certain point. Six days later, CDPR has rolled out a fix for that gam…
Source: Engadget – ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ update fixes game-breaking bug from the last patch
It has been one crazy month for the messaging service WhatsApp. Many users fled WhatsApp after it shared its upcoming privacy update. However, one messaging service’s loss is another’s gain. Telegram recently added a feature where users can import their WhatsApp chat history and contacts on iOS devices.
This new feature was released with
Source: Hot Hardware – Telegram Seizes On WhatsApp Privacy Backlash And User Exodus By Importing Chats
Count yourself lucky if you managed to snag an Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, or either of the PlayStation 5 consoles at regular price, because they have all been extremely hard to come by. Supply is just not able to keep up with demand, and scalpers only exacerbate the issue. That’s the bad news. The even worse news? Console shortages will
Source: Hot Hardware – Here’s Why PS5 And Xbox Series X Shortages Won’t Be Resolved Anytime Soon
Enlarge (credit: SOPA Images | Getty Images)
Samsung Electronics said a global semiconductor shortage that has hit global carmakers could also disrupt orders for the memory chips used in smartphones, as manufacturers rushed to respond to the crisis.
The warning from the world’s biggest memory chipmaker comes as companies and governments grow concerned that constrained chip manufacturing capacity could derail countries’ economic recoveries from the coronavirus pandemic.
The rush by semiconductor foundries to meet demand for auto chips means many are now operating at full capacity, limiting their ability to take on new orders, which could in turn slow deliveries of chips designed for mobile devices.
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Source: Ars Technica – Samsung says auto chip shortage could hit smartphones
How to format large text files for reading on the command line.
Source: LXer – The fmt Command – Formatting Text on the Linux Command Line
Some online discourses resurface as if on schedule, like an itch that can never be scratched to satisfaction. I’d like to prescribe a salve for one of Twitter’s most obnoxious perennial obsessions: fulminating about the books we were assigned in high school. I’ve been going online to complain about stuff since the…
Source: LifeHacker – We Have to Save Books from the Book People
Vicky Nina, a Yorkshire terrier, and Whisky, a border collie, were given a straightforward task that few dogs can complete: Amid a trove of toys the two pets were already familiar with, they had to identify a new toy by name—more specifically, by the fact that it was the only object they didn’t know the name of. Not…
Source: Gizmodo – How Do Some Dogs Learn Words So Quickly?
Ground meat can be awfully grim without a little help. Baking soda is fantastic for spiffing up a quick sauté, but if you’re cooking ground meat for much longer, you should marinate it in heavy cream first.
Source: LifeHacker – Soak Your Ground Meat in Heavy Cream
The stock trading app Robinhood is currently blocking users from buying any more GameStop stock citing “recent volatility” as its price soared from just under $20 at the beginning of the month to over $300 at the end of yesterday.
Source: Kotaku – Robinhood Blocks Users From Buying GameStop Stock
Tesla is by far the most important and best-selling player in the electric vehicle market. While the Model S was its first breakout hit, the Model 3 and the Model Y have recently been the volume sellers for the company. Given that the Model S hasn’t seen significant visual updates since it launched in 2012, it’s not a surprise that sales have
Source: Hot Hardware – Tesla Model S Refreshed With New Interior, Up To 520-Miles Range, 10 TFLOP Gaming Rig
A long-simmering public dispute between Facebook and Apple has neared a boiling point. The Information: With the aid of outside legal counsel, Facebook for months has been preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple that would allege the iPhone-maker abused its power in the smartphone market by forcing app developers to abide by App Store rules that Apple’s own apps don’t have to follow, according to two people with direct knowledge of Facebook’s efforts. The legal preparations by Facebook signal that the feud between the companies could further escalate, though ultimately Facebook may decide not to file a suit. Its executives are facing internal resistance from some employees over its public campaign against Apple, a fight that recently has centered on a change to iPhone software that will make it harder for Facebook and its advertisers to track people across apps.
Now Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is attempting to build a broad legal case arguing that Apple’s rules for app developers — which force them to use Apple’s in-app payment service, for instance — make it harder to compete against Apple in areas such as gaming, messaging and shopping. While Facebook could seek monetary damages in a lawsuit, the more meaningful outcome for the company and every other app developer would be material changes to Apple’s iPhone restrictions. A similar antitrust case against Apple filed last fall by game maker Epic also seeks changes to Apple’s business model rather than monetary damages. Facebook has considered inviting other companies to participate in its prospective lawsuit against Apple, said three people with knowledge of the talks.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Facebook Looks To Take its Fight With Apple To Court
If changes around pfSense land have you looking at other possible open-source firewall/router options, OPNsense that forked from pfSense six years ago is out with its newest feature release…
Source: Phoronix – OPNsense 21.1 Open-Source Firewall/Router Platform Released
Apple has released watchOS 7.3, which you’ll need to install if you want to play around with its brand-new “Unity” watch face that the company released in celebration of Black History Month. It’s actually one of three special launches Apple is making as part of its Black Unity Collection: a watch face, a special Apple…
Source: LifeHacker – Add the Pan-African Flag to Your Apple Watch for Black History Month
Telegram is still dealing with a influx of WhatsApp users upset over a new privacy policy, and it’s making sure those converts will feel more at home. WABetaInfo has noticed that the latest version of Telegram for iOS (Android users had to wait as of…
Source: Engadget – Telegram makes it easier to import your WhatsApp chat history
While the new M1 MacBooks are getting all of the attention as of late, Apple’s still producing machines with Intel chips, with one of them being a recently updated iMac. That new 27-inch desktop is on sale at Amazon right now, coming in at $1,799 for…
Source: Engadget – Apple’s latest 27-inch iMac is 0 off at Amazon
Tesla has given its venerable Model S sedan a much-needed makeover. [credit:
Tesla ]
On Wednesday evening, Tesla revealed a comprehensive refresh for its Model S sedan and Model X SUV. The revised battery electric vehicles go into production in the next few weeks at the company’s factory in Fremont, California, and include brand-new interiors and some exterior styling changes, but significantly both models will get updated powertrains, including new battery packs, power electronics, and drive units. And there are also “Plaid” versions of both sedan and SUV, the former with a supercar-rivaling 0-60mph time and 200mph top speed.
First introduced in 2012, the Model S received a minor refresh—notably a new look for the front and some small tweaks on the interior—back in 2016. This time, the work has been far more radical. Unlike the Models 3 and Y, the Model S still comes with a main instrument panel in front of the driver, but like the smaller, cheaper Tesla BEVs the big infotainment screen is now in a landscape orientation. Tesla has also added wireless charging for devices, a small screen for rear passengers, and boasts “10 teraflops of processing power” for “in-car gaming on-par with today’s newest consoles,” as well as compatibility with wireless controllers.
The most visibly obvious change has to be the new steering wheel. Or rather, steering yoke. While other car makers have experimented with flat-bottomed steering wheels in the past (and even square wheels in the case of the Austin Allegro), the new Tesla controller owes more to the controls of a Boeing 747, or perhaps K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider (the original, not the mid-00s remake with a Mustang). Presumably, Tesla expects Model S owners to use the car’s automated parking feature rather than parallel parking, an activity that invariably involves rotating the steering wheel more than 360 degrees.
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Source: Ars Technica – Tesla Model S to get comprehensive refresh, 200mph “Plaid” version
In a perfect world, every major game update would address any and all problems plaguing an initial release. Or at least the majority of issues. That is what CD Project Red attempted to do with its first major patch (version 1.1) for Cyberpunk 2077, and while it did squash a whole bunch of bugs, it introduced some new ones, including a glitch
Source: Hot Hardware – Cyberpunk 2077 v1.11 Update Fixes Game-Breaking Bug Introduced With Last Patch
