Month: January 2022

EXCLUSIVE Dutch watchdog finds Apple app store payment rules anti-competitive – sources

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Dutch antitrust authority has found that Apple’s rules requiring software developers to use its in-app payment system are anti-competitive and ordered it to make changes, four people familiar with the matter said, in the latest regulatory setback for the iPhone maker. Apple’s app-store payment policies, in particular its requirement that app developers exclusively use Read more about EXCLUSIVE Dutch watchdog finds Apple app store payment rules anti-competitive – sources[…]

LG’s Next-Gen OLED EX Tech Promises Major Improvements

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] OLED EX (the EX stands for Evolution and eXperience, unfortunately) promises to boost maximum brightness, enhance picture quality, and allow for smaller display bezels. The underlying technology—millions of individual self-lit pixels—hasn’t changed, but the use of an isotope called deuterium combined with algorithmic image processing can increase brightness by up to 30% over conventional Read more about LG’s Next-Gen OLED EX Tech Promises Major Improvements[…]

T-Mobile Has Suffered Yet Another Data Breach

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The news comes via internal documents shared with The T-Mo Report, embedded below. They state that there was “unauthorized activity” on some customer accounts. That activity was either the viewing of customer proprietary network information (CPNI), an active SIM swap by a malicious actor, or both. This comes just on the heels of a previous Read more about T-Mobile Has Suffered Yet Another Data Breach[…]

Airbnb Hides Guest First Names in Oregon to Stop Discrimination

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Beginning on Jan. 31, hosts will only see the initials of guests’ first names until they confirm a booking request, Airbnb announced in a December news announcement spotted by the Verge. After a host confirms the booking, the guest’s full name will appear. The change to how names are displaced will be in place Read more about Airbnb Hides Guest First Names in Oregon to Stop Discrimination[…]

Roblox and many other huge tech businesses Save Millions Taking Advantage Of A Massive Tax Dodge

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Game-making platform and fledgling metaverse Roblox made the news yesterday as the focus of a New York Times report about a ‘90s era tax cut that’s spun out of control. Originally created to foster investment in small businesses, the Qualified Small Business Stock, or Q.S.B.S., exemption has transformed into a way for ultra-wealthy businesses to Read more about Roblox and many other huge tech businesses Save Millions Taking Advantage Of A Massive Tax Dodge[…]

UK National Crime Agency finds 225 million previously unexposed passwords

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency and National Cyber Crime Unit have uncovered a colossal trove of stolen passwords. We know this because Troy Hunt, of Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) fame, yesterday announced the agency has handed them over to his service, which lets anyone conduct a secure search of stolen passwords to check Read more about UK National Crime Agency finds 225 million previously unexposed passwords[…]

Yes, Norton 360 has a built in cryptominer. Deletion is not easy.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Norton antivirus’s inbuilt cryptominer has re-entered the public consciousness after a random Twitter bod expressed annoyance at how difficult it is to uninstall. The addition of Ncrypt.exe, Norton 360’s signed cryptocurrency-mining binary, to installations of Norton antivirus isn’t new – but it seems to have taken the non-techie world a few months to realise what’s Read more about Yes, Norton 360 has a built in cryptominer. Deletion is not easy.[…]

CyberPowerPC case uses Kinetic Architecture to adjust airflow in real-time

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Kinetic Architecture is a concept on which buildings are designed to allow parts of the structure to move. CyberPowerPC took this idea and created a KINETIC chassis with 18 individually controlled articulating vents that open and close automatically, all based on the computer’s current internal ambient temperatures. “We are entering 2022 with some of Read more about CyberPowerPC case uses Kinetic Architecture to adjust airflow in real-time[…]

France fines Meta, Google: Cookies must be as easy to reject as to accept

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google and Facebook have come a little unstuck in the cookie department as French watchdog Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) slapped the pair with a €150m and €60m fine respectively. The CNIL kicked off its investigations after receiving complaints regarding the way cookies can be refused on facebook.com, youtube.com and google.fr. The Read more about France fines Meta, Google: Cookies must be as easy to reject as to accept[…]

Scientists Figured Out Which Animals Were in a Zoo Just by Taking DNA From the Air

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Researchers were able to identify 74 species of animals by looking for DNA in air samples collected at two zoos. The experiment shows that free-floating DNA could be used to track wild animals, including endangered or invasive species, without needing to observe them directly. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has shaken up how animal populations can be Read more about Scientists Figured Out Which Animals Were in a Zoo Just by Taking DNA From the Air[…]

Snap suing to trademark the word “spectacles” for its smart glasses that no one has ever used or knows much about

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Snap is suing the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for rejecting its application to trademark the word “spectacles” for its digital eyewear camera device. But the USPTO has maintained that “spectacles” is a generic term for smart glasses and that Snap’s version “has not acquired distinctiveness,” as required for a trademark. In its complaint Read more about Snap suing to trademark the word “spectacles” for its smart glasses that no one has ever used or knows much about[…]