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Razer is now working on a fix for the affected models released prior to 2016. (Source: Razer)

Razer's laptops confirmed to be affected by critical vulnerability

Razer issued fixes for all the models launched from 2016 onward, but owners of the Blade and Blade Pro models released prior to 2016 will have to wait for a few more weeks to get the fixes. The vulnerability is identical to the ea...

Bogdan Solca, 09 Apr 2019 14:44

Can the Galaxy S10's fingerprint scanner be hacked? (Source: Phone Arena)

Samsung Galaxy S10 fingerprint sensor reported hacked on Reddit

The under-display fingerprint sensor built into the new Samsung Galaxy S10 is often perceived as the most secure. This is due to its state-of-the-art, ultrasonic nature that builds a 3D map of the user biometric in question. A Red...

Deirdre O Donnell, 05 Apr 2019 19:47

Purism partners with Private Internet Access to develop a tracker-free VPN for PureOS and Librem 5 smartphone

In a new partnership announced today, Purism and Private Internet Access (PIA) have announced that the companies will develop a specialized VPN service for the Librem 13 and Librem 15 laptops as well as the Librem 5 smartphone. Th...

Sam Medley, 04 Apr 2019 17:00

Run Android apps on a Linux Desktop with SPURV

SPURV is a new project by Collabora, an open source software development and integration company. SPURV can run a full instance of Android in a container, allowing the mobile OS to directly access system hardware and run apps nati...

Sam Medley, 03 Apr 2019 22:54

The free Office Depot PC Health Check allegedly operated in a similar fashion to scareware. (Source: FTC)

PC Health Check scareware allegations cost Office Depot and Support.com US$35 million

Office Depot, Inc. and Support.com, Inc. have agreed to pay a combined total of US$35 million to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) after being accused of tricking customers into paying for unnecessary computer repair services....

Daniel R Deakin, 28 Mar 2019 08:49

The latest Huawei Matebook models include the patched management driver. (Source: PCWorld)

Microsoft spots critical flaw in Huawei's Matebook device manager driver

The backdoor-like vulnerability was discovered through the Windows Defender ATP kernel sensors back in January, but Microsoft did not alert the media. Instead, the company contacted Huawei directly and a patch was promptly release...

Bogdan Solca, 27 Mar 2019 20:56

Asus releases patch to fix Operation ShadowHammer vulnerability in Live Update Utility

In response to the massive media attention around Operation ShadowHammer yesterday, Asus has released a fix for the affected software (Asus Live Update Utility) to patch the security holes used in the attack. The company also rele...

Sam Medley, 26 Mar 2019 21:25

Operation ShadowHammer: Tens of thousands of computers had a security backdoor installed via Asus' Live Update Utility

Kaspersky Labs earlier today wrote about an attack they discovered in January that compromised Asus' Live Update Utility. The attack affected 57,000 Kaspersky customers and may have hit as many as 500,000 computers around the worl...

Sam Medley, 25 Mar 2019 22:55

"Great device. Would be a shame if we siphoned your data from it without your permission." (Source: MySmartPrice)

Nokia's official response on the case of user data violations

HMD Global has come up with an official response on the issue of its devices sending sensitive user data to Chinese servers. While the company's reasoning appears sound, it's still a tad appalling that something of this sort is as...

Ricci Rox, 23 Mar 2019 08:30

Not what you'd expect from Nokia. (Source: Yle)

Some Nokia devices have been clandestinely sending user data to China

Some users of the Nokia 7 Plus have reported that their phones are sending data to Chinese servers without permission, a direct violation of GDPR laws. This data includes IMEI's, serial numbers, and location, all of which are cons...

Ricci Rox, 22 Mar 2019 14:59

In plain sight: Hundreds of millions of Facebook user passwords were stored in plain text

Due to a security oversight made by some Facebook employees, certain Facebook apps have been inadvertently logging user passwords as plain text on internal company servers. While still secured against outside intrusion, between 20...

Sam Medley, 21 Mar 2019 22:21

Microsoft Defender antivirus is coming to the Mac for the first time. (Source: Microsoft)

Microsoft Defender to launch on the Mac

Microsoft has become much more open under current CEO Satya Nadella with apps made for macOS, iOS, Android and Linux. The latest step in this initiative is the porting of a version of Microsoft Defender antivirus software for macO...

Sanjiv Sathiah, 21 Mar 2019 11:38

The company hopes the day never comes. (Source: Gizbot)

Huawei confirms that it has built its own proprietary mobile OS...just in case

There have always been rumors that Huawei was working on its own OS. Those have now been confirmed by the company, with Huawei CEO Richard Yu affirming that the Chinese monolith has a working mobile OS all geared up and ready to g...

Ricci Rox, 17 Mar 2019 12:08

Repent or face the wrath of the WhatsApp overlords. (Source: WhatsApp)

WhatsApp is now banning users of third-party apps - GBWhatsApp, WhatsApp Plus

Over the past week or so, WhatsApp has taken to enforcing its strict anti-third-party policies. The company considers third-party versions of the messenger a security risk and is now banning users of such apps. GB WhatsApp and Wha...

Ricci Rox, 15 Mar 2019 08:06

Can you get your phone back after it goes missing? (Source: Asurion)

An insurance company publishes its report on successful stolen or lost device recovery research

A mobile insurance and device company, Asurion, has announced its findings on a study about missing devices and cases in which their owners managed to get them back. The company reported that having a lockscreen showing a contact ...

Deirdre O Donnell, 13 Mar 2019 19:32

Is this Pixel 3 XL really on Windows? (Source: Twitter)

A Pixel 3 XL owner claims to have ported Windows to the device

The Twitter account @NTAuthority has posted a video in which a Pixel 3 XL appears to boot into Windows. The OS' logo shows up at the start of this process, which is followed by not much more than a blue screen with what appears to...

Deirdre O Donnell, 11 Mar 2019 19:11

Apex Legends was released at the beginning of February and is free to play. (Source: CGMagazine)

Apex Legends mods have already booted over 355,000 players for cheating

Jay Frechette, the Community Manager for Respawn Entertainment, has shared information about the company’s battle against cheaters, specifically in the smash-hit battle royale game Apex Legends. Apparently, over 355,000 players ha...

Daniel R Deakin, 11 Mar 2019 10:10

Hilsenteger with his S10+, a Pixel 3 and the video that apparently hacked Face Unlock. (Source: YouTube)

Face Unlock fails again? YouTuber highlights a possible flaw in Galaxy S10+ security

The popular tech YouTuber Lewis Hilsenteger has posted a video to his channel claiming that the new Samsung Galaxy S10 series' Face Unlock security can be hacked. Hilsenteger demonstrated this by holding his Galaxy S10+ up to a 2n...

Deirdre O Donnell, 09 Mar 2019 13:57

Proton's offices are based in Geneva, Switzerland. (Source: Proton)

The company behind ProtonMail has been awarded €2 million from the EC to develop encrypted services

Proton Technologies AG, the company behind the popular encrypted email service ProtonMail, has issued a press release to reveal it has been awarded €2 million in funding from the European Commission (EC). The company plans on usin...

Daniel R Deakin, 09 Mar 2019 08:07

Ghidra, the NSA's homegrown decompiler tool, is now open source

Ghidra, the NSA's own reverse-engineering software, is now open source and freely available for download. The Agency voluntarily open-sourced the decompiler in an effort to benefit the cybersecurity community. Ghidra is a software...

Sam Medley, 06 Mar 2019 22:47

A potentiallly critical bug has been found through the use of a Vu Android TV. (Source: NDTV Gadgets)

A Twitter user claims an Android TV allowed access to other users' Google Photos data

An Indian Twitter user has alleged that an Android TV to which he had access allowed him to see all the other accounts linked to the same via the Google Home app. The bug in question also could have let him put their Google Photos...

Deirdre O Donnell, 04 Mar 2019 17:43

The Canadian Department of Justice has authorized the extradition process. (Source: CTV News)

Canada allows extradition proceedings to continue for Huawei CFO

The Canadian government has moved ahead with extradition proceedings in regard to the case of Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Huawei. The executive will be back in court on March 6 to find out the date for her extradition hearing. The ne...

Daniel R Deakin, 02 Mar 2019 08:12

The video for "Huawei Beauty" has everything from a child soldier to bizarre alcohol-related signage. (Source: YouTube/Hong Kong Free Press)

All around the world, which phone is the most pretty? Huawei, apparently

For those parents desperate to find a new catchy song to entertain children bored of watching “Baby Shark”, look no further. Not only is “Huawei Beauty” sung by a bunch of cute kids, the video also features a nifty dance routine a...

Daniel R Deakin, 28 Feb 2019 10:45

This picture might take some getting used to but its possible after all: Android on Nintendo Switch

Modders manage to get Android 10 Q running on Nintendo Switch

The modders are back at it again! After the Nintendo switch was modded to run Linux, 2 developers released a twitter video presenting their modified Nintendo console that manages to run Android 10 Q. It never ceases to amaze us wh...

Daniel Puschina, 26 Feb 2019 12:15

MWC19 | LG G8 ThinQ and G8s ThinQ offer a host of engaging features (hands-on photos)

The LG G8 ThinQ and G8s ThinQ flagship smartphones have finally made an official appearance. The G8 variant comes with numerous attractive features that should appeal to users, such as touchless commands and an OLED screen that do...

Daniel R Deakin, 25 Feb 2019 09:34

The hacker stole account information from the dating website/app Coffee Meets Bagel. (Source: Coffee Meets Bagel/VentureBeat)

Remember to have protection on Valentine's Day - for your data

A popular dating app, Coffee Meets Bagel, has revealed that it has suffered from a major data breach. Apparently, over 6.1 million accounts were affected by the hacks, which took place in late 2017 and again in May 2018. Coffee Me...

Daniel R Deakin, 15 Feb 2019 02:17

The Samsung Galaxy S6. (Source: GSMArena)

Galaxy S6 receives yet another new security update from Samsung

SamMobile has reportedly spotted security updates for the Samsung Galaxy S6, which should bring its patch level up to January 2019. This is not hugely unusual, except for the fact that this phone is now nearly 4 years old. It join...

Deirdre O Donnell, 14 Feb 2019 19:27

The Facebook group blocks 2 million WhatsApp accounts per month

How WhatsApp discovers spam without reading messages

How can spam messages be detected in end-to-end encryption? WhatsApp uses other tools and can already track 75% automatically using AI. Through this process, two million WhatsApp accounts are blocked per month.

Daniel Puschina, 13 Feb 2019 21:37

Google and Apple have come under fire for hosting a certain app in the Middle East. (Source: Search Engine Land)

Apple and Google have been accused of facilitating human rights infringements in Saudi Arabia

The Apple App Store and Google Play Store host an app called Absher in Saudi Arabia. It is an official portal by which users can manage their legal travel-related obligations. However, multiple Middle East experts allege that it i...

Deirdre O Donnell, 13 Feb 2019 13:25

The Xiaomi M365 electric scooter. (Source: GearBest)

Update | Security researchers claim to have hacked and remotely controlled Xiaomi electric scooters

The Xiaomi M365 electric scooters is popular with ride-sharing companies such as Bird in the US. They can hire out such vehicles online thanks to the ability to remotely lock rental units as and when they need to. The research gro...

Deirdre O Donnell, 12 Feb 2019 19:11

Huawei and ZTE are now risking complete bans in the U.S. as well as the European Union. (Source: VOA News)

Trump willing to ban Huawei and ZTE from US networks by end of February

All Chinese communications devices are primed for a complete ban in the U.S. and if Trump gets his way, this could happen before MWC in late February. One of the reasons for this hastened ban is the alleged violation of the Iran s...

Bogdan Solca, 11 Feb 2019 23:13

The latest version of the Opera for Android beta has introduced a VPN function. (Source: Opera)

A free VPN is baked into the latest Opera for Android beta

Opera has introduced a new beta version of its Android mobile browser with a built-in VPN. Even better, it is a free feature inclusion that doesn’t log user data that travels through Opera’s servers.

Sanjiv Sathiah, 08 Feb 2019 23:42

The eavesdropping bug only occurred when callers were using the Group feature. (Source: Apple)

Apple finally fixes eavesdropping Group FaceTime bug via iOS 12.1.4

Apple was supposed to completely fix the eavesdropping vulnerability triggered via the Group feature in the FaceTime app last week, but it looks like the company found a few more bugs and fixed them as well. One bug is related to ...

Bogdan Solca, 08 Feb 2019 22:39

A German federal office has placed restrictions on Facebook's message-merger. (Source: Fast Company)

A German authority has moved to prevent Facebook's messenger-app merger

Recently, Facebook had gone public with its intentions to merge user data from its own Messenger app with that of WhatsApp and Instagram. Yesterday, the German federal corporate trust-monitoring office ruled against Facebook's lic...

Deirdre O Donnell, 08 Feb 2019 18:09

Some apps on Apple's Store have been found to be able to see screen-recordings of user behavior. (Source: Apple)

Apple tells developers to either get transparent about screen-recording in their apps or get out of the App Store

A recent report in TechCrunch has revealed that a number of companies use a service that allows 'session replay', which can effectively translate into recordings of what users do on their iOS apps. This data can include on-screen ...

Deirdre O Donnell, 08 Feb 2019 00:40

Expensive Windows 7 support: In 2022, Microsoft will charge US$200

Windows 7 is far from dead; with around a third of the market share, the operating system is primarily used by businesses. Official support will end next year, but can be extended for another three years – at a price.

Daniel Puschina, 07 Feb 2019 11:58

A diagram from the patent for the new kind of S Pen. (Source: Patently Mobile)

Samsung Galaxy Note: New patent hints at inbuilt camera for next-gen S Pen

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9's S Pen gained interesting new Bluetooth capabilities over previous versions of the same stylus last year. Now, the OEM has obtained a patent to pack a whole camera into a version of the same component. T...

Deirdre O Donnell, 06 Feb 2019 17:40

The latest Pixel phones are covered with the newest security patch level. (Source: Google)

Pixel 3s and Essential Phone are now receiving the February 2019 Android security patch

Phones from the most recent Pixel generation (and the Essential PH-1) have been reported as having received notifications to download the latest security patch for Android. Essential has noted that this update also contains other ...

Deirdre O Donnell, 05 Feb 2019 18:33

Bug in latest Firefox 65 update blocks HTTPS websites

If you just updated your software to the latest Mozilla Firefox 65 Version and can’t access HTTPS websites, you are not alone. As has recently come to light; the new update is not compatible with all Anti-Virus software and blocks...

Daniel Puschina, 05 Feb 2019 16:36

Total drone ban during Super Bowl weekend

Super Bowl: With modern radar technology and safety net against drones

The Super Bowl is coming up this Sunday in the US, and all authorities from the FBI to the FAA have prepared themselves for disruptions and threats from drone pilots. No-fly zones have been set up, and new radar technology and dro...

Daniel Puschina, 03 Feb 2019 15:07

QuadrigaCX lost its founder, and more besides, recently. (Source: QuadrigaCX)

Crypto exchange reportedly loses the equivalent of US$137 million along with its founder

Gerry Cotten, the founder of QuadrigaCX, a Canadian cryptocurrency exchange, recently passed away at the untimely age of 30. However, the company's woes quickly escalated as it became apparent that Cotten had not left the password...

Deirdre O Donnell, 03 Feb 2019 15:02

The bug was introduced with the 12.1 version of iOS in November 2018. (Source: Apple)

Apple gets sued over FaceTime critical flaw

The legal procedures were initiated by attorney Larry Williams II who claims that key persons were able to eavesdrop on his sworn testimony given during a client deposition via the FaceTime bug. Apple appears to have known about t...

Bogdan Solca, 30 Jan 2019 19:01

Microsoft will bury Internet Explorer 10 in January 2020

Released back in September 2012, Internet Explorer 10 still receives support from Microsoft, although it has been succeeded by Internet Explorer 11 and Microsoft Edge. However, Microsoft has finally made the official announcement:...

Codrut Nistor, 30 Jan 2019 11:25

Tim Cook introduces Group Face Time. (Source: Ars Technica)

Update | Group FaceGate: New iOS bug grants access to iPhone mic audio without its owner's knowledge

Some alarming reports of a serious error in Group FaceTime associated with iOS 12.1 or later, have emerged. This bug allows an iPhone user to activate the call microphone of a second iPhone, whether its own user is aware of this o...

Deirdre O Donnell, 29 Jan 2019 17:49

Facebook plans to bring content from its three messaging-related services into closer conjunction. (Source: The Financial Express)

Facebook has a plan to 'merge' user content from Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram

Facebook has just announced an initiative in which messages from its own Messenger, as well as from its acquisitions Instagram and WhatsApp, will be integrated using a singular infrastructure. This contravenes an earlier commitmen...

Deirdre O Donnell, 25 Jan 2019 19:12

Financier and philantropist George Soros thinks that China's AI push is very dangerous (Source: Wired)

China’s push into AI is very dangerous, thinks George Soros

Notorious financier and philanthropist George Soros thinks that China's push in the AI field — which involves the plan to overtake the US by 2030 — is a severe threat to open societies. He also said that the social credit system "...

Codrut Nistor, 25 Jan 2019 13:51

Google faces a penalty of €50 million for lack of transparency. (Source: Smart Money Press)

French regulatory body fines Google €50 million for GDPR violations

The Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL) has imposed a fine of €50 million (~US$56.8 million) on Google for violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The huge penalty has been justified by t...

Daniel R Deakin, 21 Jan 2019 22:14

Huawei may face greater challenges in the future, according to its CEO. (Source: Huawei)

Huawei corporate email about possible future downsizing circulated online

Ren Zhengfei, the CEO of Huawei, has written an email warning his colleagues of the possibility of "hard times" in the future. They may include reductions in the size of the company's various regional subsidiaries. These comments ...

Deirdre O Donnell, 21 Jan 2019 14:32

Verizon customers will get more free features starting in March, spam and robocalling protection in the list

Verizon customers get spam and robocalling protection for free

Although some customers received protection from spam and robocalling in the past, now Verizon is ready to provide these useful security features to all its customers. These two treats will be offered for free starting in March, r...

Codrut Nistor, 21 Jan 2019 10:45

Collection #1 breach notification by Have I Been Pwned (Source: Personal email)

Collection #1 is one of the world's worst data breaches so far, with more than 772 million accounts affected

Although Yahoo's most severe data breach apparently involved more accounts than Collection #1, this new major security incident involves almost 2.7 billion records, including almost 773 million unique email addresses alongside pas...

Codrut Nistor, 17 Jan 2019 18:50