Author: Botrax

3 People Critical In Salt Lake City After Tesla Runs Red Light, Smashes Into Car At “High Rate Of Speed” Three people were critically injured after a Tesla ran a red light in Salt Lake […]

Fox apps are abruptly disappearing from Roku before the Super Bowl If you're planning on watching Super Bowl LIV using a streaming app, then you might not be able to use Roku hardware. While the […]

Ring Doorbell App Packed with Third-Party Trackers Ring isn’t just a product that allows users to surveil their neighbors. The company also uses it to surveil its customers. An investigation by EFF of the Ring […]

Avast packaged detailed user data to be sold for millions of dollars The popular antivirus program Avast has been selling users data to giant companies like Google, Home Depot, Microsoft and Pepsi, a joint investigation […]

I am my own spy: A personal surveillance story One of the first webcams I purchased was a Dropcam several years ago. We'd had a couple of package thefts, and I wanted to see if […]

DirecTV satellite is at risk of explosion due to battery issues DirecTV has one month to remove a satellite from geostationary orbit, so it doesn't take other satellites down with it if it ends up […]

Some Under Armour fitness devices lose their smarts on March 31st People who bought some of Under Armour's fitness devices are learning a hard lesson about the fragility of connected tech. Ars Technica has learned […]

Wikipedia comes back online in Turkey after multi-year ban Access to Wikipedia in Turkey has been restored after a nearly three-year ban, which saw the site blocked after it refused to remove content tying the […]

‘GTA4’ leaves Steam after an old Microsoft service breaks game sales Rockstar is learning first hand about the pitfalls of trusting your game's functionality to a third-party service. The developer has confirmed to The Verge […]

Most websites don’t follow European cookie consent laws, study shows Websites that operate in Europe are supposed to follow GDPR rules that let consumers to opt out of cookie-type tracking. However, most are making it […]

Study finds five major US carriers vulnerable to SIM-swapping tactics A Princeton study (PDF) has discovered that five US prepaid carriers use authentication techniques that are vulnerable to SIM-swapping tactics. The researchers signed up for […]

Uber is leaving Colombia after court ruling Uber has once again been kicked out of an entire country. The ridesharing firm is shutting down operations in Colombia on February 1st after a December court ruling […]

Microsoft contractors reportedly reviewed Cortana clips on insecure PCs New details have emerged about how Microsoft operated its Cortana and Skype grading programs in the past. Building on a Vice report from last summer, The […]

The Morning After: The worst tech in 2019 Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Was 2019 a good year for you? If you weren't in charge of getting the Galaxy Fold out the door, then […]

The worst tech of 2019 2019 was full of hype. From excitement over foldable phones and laptops to plenty of noise about 5G, the year was packed with news about promising new technology that had […]

Mazda3 bug activates emergency brake system for no reason Driver assists can help make our trips much safer, but integrating software decisions into the control of a vehicle could cause serious problems if the system […]

Twitter flaw let a researcher match 17 million phone numbers with users Yes, it's another Twitter security issue in the space of just a few days. Security researcher Ibrahim Balic told TechCrunch that Twitter's Android […]

Twitter blocks animated PNGs after trolls used them to trigger seizures Twitter will no longer animate PNG files after trolls hijacked the Epilepsy Foundation's handle and hashtags last month to send potentially seizure-inducing images to […]

Federal study shows face recognition accuracy varies by gender and race Researchers have studied the potential for bias in facial recognition algorithms before, but now it's the US government's turn to weigh in. The National […]

All Toilets at ISS Break Down, Astronauts Forced to Use ‘Diapers’ – NASA None of the toilets at the International Space Station (ISS) are working, astronauts have to use “diapers”, a NASA translation suggested Wednesday. […]

iOS 13.2.2 might fix the bug that broke multitasking on the iPhone and iPad, but it appears to introduce a new bug that severely limits productivity when on the move. Another day, another iOS bug. […]

The FCC will host a memorial service; unlimited and bonus will share a casket AT&T has a gift for wireless subscribers on many of its old Mobile Share Value data plans: it’s giving them an […]

A security vulnerability in Amazon’s Ring Video Doorbell Pro could let attackers steal your Wi-Fi password Security researchers at Bitdefender have discovered a high-severity security vulnerability in Amazon’s Ring Video Doorbell Pro devices that could […]

Right on cue, Cisco on Wednesday patched a security vulnerability in some of its network switches that can be exploited by miscreants to commandeer the IT equipment and spy on people. This comes immediately after […]

This one is for my fellow WP peeps and has nothing to do with MLM. On the off-chance someone over at Automattic might come across it I’ll leave it up for a day then delete. […]

In a letter to senators, a top Google official said the company allows app developers to scan Gmail accounts, even though Google itself stopped the practice for the purpose of ad targeting last year. The […]

New drop tests from device insurer SquareTrade confirmed that both of Apple’s latest high-end smartphones are prone to shattering when dropped from six feet above the ground. Source: Be careful with your new iPhone …Apple’s […]

Tesla’s fleet network connection is currently down, which means that owners of the EV brand of cars aren’t able to sign into the mobile app. Unfortunately, this means that they can’t remote start or remote […]

The latest security warning comes after the Facebook-owned chat app announced plans to start backing up users’ messages to Google Drive for free. Hackers could soon read through your WhatsApp text messages, images and videos. […]

Despite attempts by the Telecom industry and mainstream media to hide the connection between adverse health effects and cellphone/Wi-Fi radiation, the manufacturers’ own statements contradict themselves and their media mouthpieces in their own guidelines. Source: Manuals Warn: […]

Over the last two years, academic researchers have identified various methods that they can transmit hidden commands that are undetectable by the human ear to Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and Google’s Assistant. According to a […]

Following the news that the latest iOS update can break phones with non-official replacement screens, repairers are encountering a different, more subtle problem: If you put a genuine Apple replacement display into an iPhone 8, […]

WannaCry was a wake-up call for healthcare, but the sector is still terribly vulnerable to attack Source: Imagine you’re having a CT scan and malware alters the radiation levels – it’s doable • The Register

Google stepped up its scrutiny of device security several years ago in the wake of the massive Stagefright vulnerability. Ever since then, Android devices list a “patch level” that tells you when its security was […]

A recent investigation into 115 of the world’s most popular VPN services revealed that many are antithetical to their stated claims. To build trust, providers make promises not to track users through logs or other […]

As part of a planned national sampling and compliance project, Health Canada tested a number of uncertified USB chargers. The following products were found to pose an unacceptable risk of electric shock and fire and […]

If your Oculus Rift has suddenly quit working, well, we have good news and bad news. The bad news is, your Oculus Rift doesn’t work. The good news is, it’s a temporary problem. The problem, […]

Security researchers at Kaspersky Lab have discovered what’s likely to be another state-sponsored malware strain, and this one is more advanced than most. Nicknamed Slingshot, the code spies on PCs through a multi-layer attack that […]

Today is the World Wide Web’s 29th birthday, and to celebrate the occasion, its creator has told us how bad it’s become. In an open letter appearing in The Guardian, Tim Berners-Lee painted a bleak […]

Apple devices at a refurbishment facility in Elk Grove, California have been calling 911 multiple times a day for the past few months, CBS Sacramento reports. Since last October, the Elk Grove Police station has […]

A new report from consulting firm Javelin outlines the latest hacking trends in the US, explaining what consumers should be wary of. Hackers stole more Social Security numbers than credit card numbers last year – […]

The United States takes pride in being a technological leader in the world… but, when it comes to IT infrastructure however, the U.S. is lagging behind the world’s best… (and many of the world’s not-so-best) […]

Black Panther is a refreshing answer to the increasingly stale world of superhero cinema. But there’s one glaring flaw throughout the film: its use of CG models to replace humans during action sequences. They’re weightless, […]

State and local law enforcement groups want wireless providers to store detailed information about your SMS messages for at least two years — in case they’re needed for future criminal … Source: WIRELESS PROVIDERS TO […]

Bitcoin mining is a weird industry. Vast banks of dedicated computers solve complex equations to generate hashes worth a fraction of a coin, consuming huge amounts of power in the process. For such operations to […]

Flight Sim Labs is a company dedicated to “specializing in various add-on products and services for the Microsoft Flight Simulator and Enterprise Simulator Platform (ESP) families.” That’s a specialized market, to be sure — flight […]

Security researchers at Appsecure found a way to access anyone’s Tinder account via their phone number. The exploit took advantage of a software flaw in both the dating app’s login process as well as the […]

Germany’s military hardware woes continue worsen: the German Parliament has announced that none of the German Navy’s submarines are in operational condition. The navy maintains six submarines, but accidents and wear and tear have rendered […]

Salon is now using their reader’s spare computing power to mine cryptocurrency. Salon, a popular progressive website, has introduced a new feature that harnesses the spare computing power of its reader’s devices to mine cryptocurrency. […]

We found Apple’s long-awaited HomePod belts out good sound for casual listeners so long as they’d already bought in to the iOS ecosystem (it needs an iPhone or iPad to work. Woof). But on top […]

An unpatched application-level denial of service (DoS) vulnerability in WordPress websites could help hackers take down nearly any WordPress website A simple yet serious application-level denial of service (DoS) vulnerability has been discovered in WordPress […]

Data about exercise routes shared online by soldiers can be used to pinpoint overseas facilities Sensitive information about the location and staffing of military bases and spy outposts around the world has been revealed by […]

The Smominru miner has infected at least half a million machines — mostly consisting of Windows servers — and spreads using the EternalBlue exploit. Source: A giant botnet is forcing Windows servers to mine cryptocurrency […]

Game publisher Electronic Arts took it on the chin late last year when fans vehemently objected to the use of microtransactions in Star Wars Battlefront II. The backlash was so bad EA temporarily removed paid […]

Monthly stipends for 11,000 disabled student veterans are delayed this month, potentially causing the former troops to be late paying rent, food and other pressing bills. The money from the program known as Vocational Rehabilitation […]

The iPhone X’s early teething troubles have largely gone away, but there’s a lingering problem for some owners… and it’s a fairly serious one. Users have reported that the iPhone X’s touchscreen won’t turn on […]

The UK government will fine companies in “critical industries” up to £17 million if they have woefully inadequate cybersecurity defences. The penalty system is a response to an EU directive, passed in August 2016, that […]

– ATMs in US hit by “jackpotting” attacks that empty ATMs in minutes – FBI warns of attacks in US after similar crimes in Taiwan, Thailand and Europe – Hackers have stolen c.$1 million from […]

YouTube was recently caught displaying ads that covertly leach off visitors’ CPUs and electricity to generate digital currency on behalf of anonymous attackers, it was widely reported. Word of the abusive ads started no later […]

A US missile defense test carried out in Hawaii was unsuccessful, according to officials. A SM-3 Block IIA missile was launched from an Aegis Ashore test site in Hawaii, but failed to shoot down an […]

Toyota models dominated the list of the top 15 cars American drivers tend to keep for at least 15 years before trading in for a new one. These are the top 15 cars that American […]

A contraceptive app used by more than 500,000 women has come under fire after reportedly causing 37 unwanted pregnancies. Stockholm’s Södersjukhuset hospital has now reported the Natural Cycles app to the Swedish Medical Products Agency […]

Transmission, one of the most used non-commercial BitTorrent clients, has a vulnerability that allows outsiders to gain control over people’s computers. The flaw affects users who have remote control enabled with the default password. The […]

Automation and SCADA-flingers admit fix has affected products Patches for the Meltdown vulnerability are causing stability issues in industrial control systems. SCADA vendor Wonderware admitted that Redmond’s Meltdown patch made its Historian product wobble. “Microsoft […]

Big Red finally delivers patches for its x86 boxes – and 230-plus other problems Oracle has told users of its SPARC-powered platforms that they have the Spectre processor design flaw. A support document buried in […]

While the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency says a false missile alert was not a hack, a password in a photo has drawn criticism of its security practices. Source: Hawaii emergency agency password in photo sparks […]

There’s a new bug floating around called “chaiOS” that appears to be a basic GitHub link. However, when you text it to a person via the iMessage app (whether on iOS or MacOS), it will […]

Ubisoft has a history of premature software releases, but here’s one you might not mind. The developer has confirmed that it inadvertently released its Assassin’s Creed Origins add-on The Hidden Ones to Xbox One users […]

A highly complex online advertising system makes it hard for big name publishers to find, let alone stop, misleading, malware-laden, and hard-to-close ads. Source: A New Wave Of Bad Ads Is Hijacking Even Top-Tier Websites

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich sold off a major stake in the company in November, months after the chipmaker learned of a significant security flaw in its chips. Source: Intel CEO Krzanich sold shares after company […]

Disclosure of the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities, which affect mainly Intel CPUs, was handled “in an incredibly bad way” by both Intel and Google, the leader of the OpenBSD project Theo de Raadt claims. Source: […]

Following reports of unbootable machines, Microsoft has halted updates of its Meltdown and Spectre security patches for AMD computers, according to a support note spotted by the Verge. It made the move after numerous complaints […]

Western Digital’s My Cloud network attached storage (NAS) devices claim to offer an easy, all-in-one solution for storing your data at home. However, they might also be providing an easy, all-in-one solution for hackers to […]

VTech, the maker of smart toys whose poor security practices exposed data from millions parents and children, has been slapped on the wrist by the FTC to the tune of $650,000 and probation. It seems […]

Instead of focusing on single-digit percentage increases in performance, a bigger question needs to be asked: Is it safe? Source: Spectre puts the brakes on CPU need for speed | ZDNet

Back at the tail end of November, Apple had to rush out an emergency security patch after news of a serious security flaw surfaced in macOS High Sierra. That bug allowed users to log into […]

Earlier this week, Intel said it would have Meltdown and Spectre fixes available by the end of the month for all recently made chips. But as the Wall Street Journal reports, some of the patches […]

Wondering why Snapchat felt compelled to redesign its app, besides the need to compete with Facebook? It should be clearer after today. The Daily Beast has obtained Snap data showing that the company has had […]

It’s not just your processor and operating system that are affected by the Meltdown and Spectre memory vulnerabilities — your graphics card is, too. To that end, NVIDIA has detailed how its GPUs are affected […]

We are getting reports that all international travelers in the United States are weathering horrendous lines as the computer system for passports operated by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has failed late Monday night. On […]

Sysadmins notice performance dip amid security fix rollout. Not everyone hit hard. YMMV etc Source: Amazon: Intel Meltdown patch will slow down your AWS EC2 server • The Register

Perhaps the Meltdown and Spectre bugs are the impetus for making long-overdue changes to the core DNA of the semiconductor industry and how chip architectures are designed. Source: Why Intel x86 must die: Our cloud-centric […]

Companies are scrambling to fix the serious security issues after it was determined the two hardware bugs discovered could be exploited to allow the memory content of a computer to be leaked. Source: Apple confirms all […]

The Palo Alto, California, based computer company has issued a software tool that checks if your system is affected and enables a ‘battery safe mode’, to render the power packs inert. Source: HP recalls computer […]

The fact that privacy concerns were not placed at the top of the list by LinkNYC and the CityBridge private consortium should speak volumes Source: Confirmed: New York City’s Public WiFi Stations Are Spying On […]

I just learned of this dispicable Comcast practice today and I am livid. Comcast began injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript code in to pages I requested on the internet so that when the browser renders […]

Last week, we reported that Dell had become the first major OEM to sell laptops that didn’t use the Intel Management Engine. The move was significant, both because of Dell’s size and because the other […]

San Francisco has been home to many quirky, forward-thinking technology startups over the years. There have been services that will fill your gas tank, mail you rolls of quarters, and even more ridiculous things. But […]

OEMs aren’t particularly good at security, but HP’s recent problems deserve some kind of award. The company has been shipping a keylogger on at least 460 laptop models, and while it’s disabled by default, enabling […]

Silicon love machines can now be built to satisfy the kinky requirements of their owner A sex robot designer is now making robots which cater to every fetish and can be fitted with anything from […]

In December 2008, the internet welcomed Google’s Incognito Mode, a privacy option for Chrome, with open arms. The feature offered protection against overbearing browser-history snoops at a time when many of us considered getting caught […]

If someone secretly installed software on your computer that recorded every single keystroke that you made, would you be alarmed?  Of course you would be, and that is essentially what is taking place on more […]

The Federal Communications Commission will announce a full repeal of net neutrality protections Wednesday, according to the New York Times and several other media outlets. It is possible that a committee of telecom industry plutocrats who have […]

Over the last two months, we’ve seen a rapid proliferation of websites that mine cryptocurrencies while users visit. While some of the guilty sites are less reputable, we’ve also seen this behavior from companies like […]

Using bcache to speed Linux 4.14? Stop if you want your data to live Source: ‘Urgent data corruption issue’ destroys filesystems in Linux 4.14