Google Won't Block Tracking Cookies After All

John Lister — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 16:29:36 +0000

Google has ditched plans to block third-party cookies in the Chrome browser. It says it will instead let users "make an informed choice" - a change that's upset privacy campaigners. A cookie is a text file placed by a website on a user's computer. The site can then retrieve information from the file the next time the user visits, for example to log them into an account or to provide a personalized website experience such as a localized weather forecast. Many cookies are "first party," meaning they only collect and store data about a user's activity on the site which issued the cookies. ... (view more)

Quantum Computing Could Be Reality Soon

John Lister — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 17:32:20 +0000

Quantum computers could be practical in just three years from now according to a manufacturer. The technology could transform the speed and capability of computers. Oxford Ionics says it has not only produced a quantum computer chip with twice the performance of any existing chip, but that it could mass-produce its new design without needing specialist facilities. The idea of quantum computing has been explored for many years and aims to overcome one of the biggest limitations of traditional computing. Ultimately existing computers simply store data as either a 0 or a 1 (a bit), usually ... (view more)

Google Cuts Back 'AI Overview' Search

John Lister — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 16:27:31 +0000

Google has significantly scaled back its use of AI-generated "answers" on its search results page. It's also sourcing less of the "facts" from discussion forums such as Reddit. The changes are to the "AI Overview" feature, which replaced a similar feature called "Search Generative Experience". In both cases, it meant Google creating text that appeared at the top of the search results page, ahead of the normal list of links to relevant websites. The feature is primarily designed to answer questions without the need for the user to visit a website. The "answers" are a summary of information on ... (view more)

10 Billion Password Leak Not What It Seems

John Lister — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 16:51:49 +0000

Reports that hackers have got their hands on 10 billion passwords have been slightly overblown. The file includes passwords up to 20 years old and many may never have been used at all. The "leak" involves an online post of a text file dubbed "RockYou 2024" which is said to contain 9,948,575,739 unique passwords, all stored in plain text. It appears to be an update from a similar file published in 2021, with "only" 1.5 billion of the passwords added since that time. Cybernews estimates it contains passwords compiled from around 4,000 databases over the past 20 years. (Source: cybernews.com ) ... (view more)

How to Fix: Error Exporting VM on Virtualbox (OVF) to VMware

Dennis Faas — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 16:59:05 +0000

Infopackets Reader William B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am running a server virtual machine inside of Virtualbox and it's been quite slow. I've read that VMware Workstation has twice the performance (roughly). Out of curiosity, I tried to export my current virtual machine in Virtualbox using the Open Virtualization Format (.OVF or .OVA) but I get an error every time I try to export: ' Could not create the exported medium Server-disk001.vmdk (VERR_IO_CRC) .' I am not sure what to do and would like to export this virtual machine off of Virtualbox so I can give VMware Workstation a try. " My ... (view more)

Company Promises to Patch Win10 After End of Life

John Lister — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 16:49:49 +0000

Microsoft has competition in the market for extending Windows 10 after its scheduled end of life. An independent company is promising simple-to-use security updates - with a cost. Officially, Microsoft will stop issuing free security updates for Windows 10 after October 14, 2025, just over 10 years after the system was released. That's not got a great reaction given Microsoft heavily implied there would be no new version after 10, and that it has arguably made Windows 11 an unnecessarily difficult upgrade through new hardware security requirements. If all goes to plan, anyone wanting to keep ... (view more)

Microsoft Says Customer Affected By Email Hack

John Lister — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 15:18:25 +0000

Microsoft says Russian hackers accessed its customers' emails during an attack earlier this year. It had previously only said Microsoft's own staff were victims. The company has not yet said how many customers are affected but says it has contacted them with details of the attack. Microsoft was breached by a group called Midnight Blizzard, believed to operate from Russia. The government there has not commented on the claims. The new revelations follow a Microsoft announcement in January that a small proportion of its corporate email accounts had been accessed by Midnight Blizzard. The attacks ... (view more)

How to Fix: 2024-01 Security Update for Windows 10 Fails to Install

Dennis Faas — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 15:15:32 +0000

Infopackets Reader Jack L. writes: " Dear Dennis, For the last 4-5 months when I try to do a Windows 10 update to download and install ' 2024-01 Security Update for Windows 10 Version 22H2 for x64 based Systems ' ( KB5034441 ) the update downloads, but when it starts to install (before I restart the computer) it constantly gives the following error code ( 0x80070643 ). Are you able to remedy this problem? " My response: I asked Jack if he would like to use my remote desktop service , and he agreed. Below I will discuss my findings. How to Fix: 2024-01 Security Update for Windows 10 Fails to ... (view more)

Being Blackmailed on Snapchat? Here's What to Do

Dennis Faas — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 17:00:19 +0000

Infopackets Reader Drew W. writes: " Dear Dennis, I was randomly added by a female on Snapchat and she asked me what I looked like. We hit it off, and then she asked for some inappropriate photos of myself. A few minutes later, she showed me pictures of my Instagram follower and said if I didn't pay, they would be sent to my followers. I have already sent $400 and was provided video proof of my photos being deleted. However, she is now demanding another $100 to 'delete for good', whatever that means. I already received SMS text messages from 4 other phone numbers demanding higher amounts. ... (view more)

Android Gets Easier Health Checks

John Lister — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 14:45:01 +0000

The next version of Android will make it easier to diagnose performance and hardware issues. It will remove the need to use hidden codes. The changes are coming to Android 15, which is expected to roll out in finished form in August. Google has just released the third beta testing version of the update and testers have noticed a new feature in the System section of the Settings app. Labeled "Device diagnostics", the feature has two elements. The first, "Evaluation Mode" reportedly lets users "use one device to assess another device", which sounds more useful for dedicated tech enthusiasts or ... (view more)

Meta AI Image Warnings Backfire

John Lister — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 17:12:13 +0000

Facebook and Instagram's attempts to avoid users being misled by AI-generated photos have backfired. Several users report photographs they took themselves as being falsely labeled as made by AI tools. Meta, which owns both sites plus social discussion tool Threads, has started adding a "Made with AI" label to images. In some cases it's there because the users has ticked a box to say they used AI to make the image. In other cases, it's because Meta's detection tools have flagged the image. The site has felt pressure to clearly indicate AI-generated images that could be designed to fool and ... (view more)

Scammers Could Send Emails 'From Microsoft'

John Lister — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 16:39:08 +0000

A particularly embarrassing bug makes it easy to send emails that appear to be from Microsoft employees. It's bad news for the public as it could make phishing scams appear more credible. The good news is that it only works if the recipient is using Outlook, though "good" is a comparative term because there are over 400 million Outlook users worldwide. (Source: cyberdaily.au ) Users Asked to Remain Vigilant Exactly how the bug works and where its found still isn't known, as the security researcher says they do not want to give details that could help potential attackers exploit the bug on a ... (view more)

No-Apps Phone Could Cost $799

John Lister — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 17:09:20 +0000

The makers of a low-tech phone say they want people to use it as little as possible. But they've added a "proper" screen that brings the price up to $399. The third incarnation of the Light Phone continues to raise questions about exactly who the intended users are, though the makers say sales have topped 100,000. (Source: techcrunch.com ) Previous versions had virtually no features: the Light Phone 2 made phone calls and accepted text messages, but had no Internet browser or installable apps. Instead it simply performed a few basic built-in tasks such as playing music files, giving driving ... (view more)

Adobe Accused of Subscription Shadiness

John Lister — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 16:44:11 +0000

The US government is suing Adobe for allegedly tricking users into subscriptions. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says the company doesn't do enough to warn users about cancellation charges and makes it too hard to cancel. The court case is against both Adobe as a company and individually against the company's vice president and its president of digital media business. The key complaint is that Adobe has breached federal consumer protection laws and thus harmed consumers. The individuals are named because they had the authority to make decisions about Adobe's subscriptions policies. ... (view more)

How to Fix: Nonexistent host networking interface (Virtualbox)

Dennis Faas — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 17:29:31 +0000

Infopackets Reader Calli P. writes: " Dear Dennis, I we just upgraded our server machine which includes all brand new hardware. The new server hardware will act as a Hypervisor, and are currently using Virtualbox to run our 'server' virtual machine. After copying over the server virtual machine to the new hardware, however, Virtualbox won't boot the virtual machine, stating ' Nonexistent host networking interface , name Intel I210 Gigabit Network Connection (VERR_INTERNAL_ERROR)', with an E_FAIL error 0x80004005 . I am not sure what to do and I need help! " My response: I asked Calli if she ... (view more)

Outlook Users Warned Of Major Bug

John Lister — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 17:27:55 +0000

This month's Microsoft "Patch Tuesday" update includes a fix for a major threat in Outlook. The bug means simply opening an email can trigger the attack. The update should have been applied to most systems by now, but some users may have shut off Windows Update, in which case it is recommended to re-enable and patch immediately. The threat, discovered by security company Morphisec, is a remote code execution vulnerability. That's particularly nasty as it gives an attacker the ability to remotely operate on the victim's computer. They could then spread malware, install ransomware or attempt to ... (view more)

How to Fix: Disable Windows 11 Reboot on Update

Dennis Faas — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 16:41:23 +0000

(Note that the solution below applies to any Windows 11 machine that needs to stay up and running without a reboot after updates, and not just one running VMware Workstation). Infopackets Reader Calli P. writes: " Dear Dennis, We recently upgraded our server machine to an AMD Ryzen 9 with 16 cores and 32 threads. The old machine was very outdated (only 4 core). The role of the new server is the same as the old - to be a Hypervisor - which runs VMware workstation. Inside of VMware Workstation is a virtual machine which we regard as the Server virtual machine, which runs our ESC software for ... (view more)

MS Rethinks Windows 11 Constant Snooping AI Feature

John Lister — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 16:46:20 +0000

Microsoft has backtracked on a new Windows 11 feature that screenshots a computer every few seconds. "Recall" will now be an opt-in tool that doesn't work by default. The theory behind the tool is that it would be helpful for users to be able to find information from something they'd used or been work on, even if they couldn't remember precisely when and where. That's inherently difficult to do through ordinary file or web searches, particularly if it involves an image. Searching the contents of different file types can be slow, while searching for something that isn't text can be difficult. ... (view more)

How to Fix: Upgrade Win10 VM to 11 (MBR to GPT, VMware)

Dennis Faas — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 17:59:45 +0000

Infopackets Reader Calli P. writes: " Dear Dennis, We own a heating and cooling business and have a server that uses a Windows 10 virtual machine on VMware workstation. The virtual machine runs a program called ESC Connections Server that allows us to book appointments (among other things) from our workstations and also remotely on our phones. The ESC Server and virtual machine are both mission critical. That said, I understand that Windows 10 will only be supported until October, 2025 and would like to upgrade it to Windows 11. The problem is that our virtual machine was built using the MBR ... (view more)

Windows Update a Must For Wi-Fi Threat

John Lister — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 13:48:27 +0000

The latest Windows update fixes a nasty bug that could put users at risk when connected to public WiFi. An attacker could exploit it simply by using the same network. The bug, with the reference number CVE-2024-30078, is rated as "important" by Microsoft. That rating takes into account both how easy it is to exploit and how much damage it would do. (Source: microsoft.com ) The problem is with WiFi drivers, used to make Windows work with the hardware in a computer (usually a laptop) to connect to a wireless network. It would allow hackers to take advantage of the way Internet data is broken up ... (view more)

Google Maps Timeline Data May Disappear

John Lister — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 16:20:23 +0000

Google Maps is changing the way it stores Location History. It's arguably a boost for privacy but may be a surprise for some users who appreciate the feature. The change is to the timeline feature that's included in both the desktop and mobile app versions of Google Maps. It lets users see a complete record of all places they've visited while using a mobile device with location tracking switched on. The feature will also add detail and context, for example including any picture from a visit that are saved in Google Photos, or figuring out when a user went on a trip or vacation. It can be ... (view more)

Microsoft Reinstates Test Program For Windows 10

John Lister — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 17:39:22 +0000

Microsoft is inviting Windows 10 users to join a test program for new features. It's something of a surprise given the system theoretically reaches its "end of life" next year. The program is part of Windows Insider, where Microsoft lets people sign up to test new Windows features. The idea is to get an audience big enough to pick up problems in real world testing, but small enough that any problems aren't a major issue. Microsoft is reopening the Beta Channel for Windows 10. That's one of four Windows Insider channels: Canary, Dev, Beta and Release Preview. The first two are very early ... (view more)

Background Data Company Suffers Massive Data Breach

John Lister — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 15:35:39 +0000

Almost three billion personal data records have been stolen from a background check company. The massive breach has unintentionally proven the value of data opt-out laws. The people who stole the data had put it up for sale to other criminals for $3.5 million, but it seems they didn't find a buyer. They are reportedly now planning to release the data publicly. That might seem an odd move given its supposed value, but it's likely part of a long game. It means that if the same group steal data in the future, they would be able to blackmail the business with more credibility. The data is said to ... (view more)

Google Play 'Update' May Be Scam

John Lister — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 16:05:28 +0000

Android scammers are using a creatively nasty way to spread malware. They've disguised it as an update for the Google Play store itself. It's a particularly cheeky way to try to get credibility for a malware scam. Not only is Google Play the official place to get Android apps in the first place, but the best and simplest Android security tip is to only use apps from Google Play. In this case, the malware doesn't originate as an app but instead as a bogus link. This could be on a web page, in a text message or in an email. The supposed source is Google itself and the link comes with a message ... (view more)

YouTube Glitching Again For Adblocker Users

John Lister — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 18:16:47 +0000

Some users are reporting finding it almost impossible to watch videos on YouTube while using an ad blocker. It's likely the latest attempt by YouTube to crack down, but seems to only work on specific ad blockers. Over recent months, YouTube had displayed a warning message to people who used an ad blocker, telling them the video would not play until they switched it off. YouTube maintains that using an ad blocker actually violates its terms of service. The company also argues that ad blocking hurts both creators and users, the logic being that without ad revenue, creators have less incentive ... (view more)

Google Search AI Says Eating Glue is OK

John Lister — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 16:34:06 +0000

Google appears to be rethinking its use of AI generated "answers" in search results page. It comes as tech experts figured out a workaround to disable the AI generated answers in the first place. The company recently launched what it calls Search Generative Experience behind the scenes, and "AI Overview" in search results. It kicks in when it thinks the user is trying to get a specific answer to a specific question rather than simply searching for a website or exploring a wider topic. The AI Overview appears at the top of the results before any links to websites and is rolling out to all ... (view more)

WinXP Lasts 10 Minutes Before Becoming Infected

John Lister — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 17:22:23 +0000

An unprotected Windows XP machine lasted just 10 minutes online before being infected. It was an extreme and arguably unrealistic experiment, but does show just how prevalent online threats are. YouTuber Eric Parker carried out the test with a virtual machine running Windows XP. A virtual machine is a machine that lives inside of another machine, which makes it appear as if the virtual machine is a separate, physical computer. It's often used by people running two operating systems on the same computer. In fact, this website runs as a virtual machine. At any rate: it's no secret that running ... (view more)

Nearly 1-in-10 Webpages Disappear in a Year

John Lister — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 19:28:28 +0000

More than a third of webpages have disappeared in the past 10 years according to a new study. Eight percent of pages that existed last year have already gone. The figures come from the Pew Research Center, exploring what it calls "digital decay" and other sources have called "link rot". (Source: pewresearch.org ) Pew's researchers looked at a random selection of URLs which were active at various points over the past 10 years. On average, a quarter have now gone. Naturally there's a downward trend, with 38 percent of pages active in 2013 now unavailable. Even with pages active as recently as ... (view more)

FBI Seizes Hacker Forum

John Lister — Fri, 31 May 2024 18:01:47 +0000

The FBI has taken control of a forum used for selling stolen data. The fact it's the second time BreachForums has been taken down this year shows how it may be an endless task. Such forums are arguably a key incentive for hackers to steal data in the first place. The forums make it easier to find buyers for the stolen data, rather than the hackers having to figure out their own tactics for exploiting the stolen information. BreachForums was also a key marketplace for selling malware used for successful hacking attacks. High-profile data offered for sale on the site in recent months included ... (view more)

TikTok Users Sue Over Ban

John Lister — Wed, 29 May 2024 15:48:16 +0000

It's no surprise TikTok has challenged a law that bans it operating in the US under Chinese ownership. But what wasn't expected was individual users suing to block the law. The US government recently passed a law giving TikTok's Chinese-based owners ByteDance until January 19, 2025 to sell to a non-Chinese company. If it doesn't, app stores will be barred from distributing the app and hosting companies would not be allowed to serve the business. TikTok says the deadline is so short and the conditions so strict that the law is effectively an outright ban. It's already started a legal challenge ... (view more)

Study Claims Internet Use Boosts Wellbeing

John Lister — Mon, 27 May 2024 17:09:26 +0000

Internet adoption has a positive link with wellbeing, according to an international research project. But it's a mixed picture and cause and effect could be questioned. The research comes from the Oxford Internet Institute, which examined a wide range of studies into psychological wellbeing and mental health. They covered a total of 2.4 million people across 168 countries at various points between 2006 and 2021. (Source: ac.uk ) The researchers then cross-referenced the results with figures on broadband and mobile Internet use in the relevant countries at the relevant times. The biggest ... (view more)

FCC Closes Net Neutrality Loophole

John Lister — Fri, 24 May 2024 16:17:28 +0000

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has banned Internet carriers from giving some applications access to "fast lane" speeds. The tweak to recently-restored net neutrality rules aims to close a potential loophole. Last month, the FCC voted to restore the principle of net neutrality. Broadly they say Internet carriers must treat all traffic equally. The commission has now published the full wording of the rules which will enforce the principle. One of the most notable elements of net neutrality is speed. Previously used rules explicitly barred carriers from slowing down access when ... (view more)

New Laptop Memory Saves Space and Power

John Lister — Wed, 22 May 2024 16:33:28 +0000

A new form of laptop memory aims to remove one of the biggest trade-offs in portable devices. It promises speed and power efficiency while still being easily replaceable. Most existing laptop memory falls into two categories, each with a weakness. One type, which is easily replaceable, takes up a comparatively large amount of space and uses a lot of power. That's double bad news in a portable computer. The other type is smaller and more energy efficient but must be soldered onto the motherboard, which is effectively the "spine" of a computer's operations. That's great at first but it removes ... (view more)

'Dirty Stream' Floods Android With Malware

John Lister — Fri, 17 May 2024 13:38:00 +0000

A new form of Android malware can hijack legitimate apps. "Dirty Stream" take advantage of a legitimate function designed to make life easier for users. The function is called ContentProvider and allows one mobile app to access data from, or communicate with, another app. It makes it possible to, for example, open a PDF attachment from a messaging app in a dedicated PDF reader app. The people behind the DirtyStream malware found a vulnerability in the way ContentProvider worked. This made it possible not only to force another app to open a compromised file, but to then use the contents to ... (view more)

2.28 Million Rogue Apps Blocked By Google

John Lister — Wed, 15 May 2024 15:13:16 +0000

Google says it blocked 2.28 million potentially malicious apps from getting into the official Play store last year. It stopped or paused a further 200,000 which didn't correctly use the permissions system. The figure for malicious app blocks is up almost half compared with 2022. Google didn't say conclusively whether that means more scammers are trying their luck or if it simply did a better job of detecting them. However, it did note the 2023 figure was "in part thanks to our investment in new and improved security features, policy updates, and advanced machine learning and app review ... (view more)

FCC Revives Net Neutrality

John Lister — Fri, 10 May 2024 16:32:34 +0000

The FCC has restored net neutrality rules, theoretically making it harder for broadband providers to favor traffic speed on some sites or services over others. But the introduction of 5G technology could be a glitch in the plan. Net neutrality is a longstanding topic of debate for the FCC with policy largely following partisan politics. Rules were last introduced in 2015 and then repealed in 2017. (Source: theverge.com ) The general principle of net neutrality is that all Internet traffic (except for inherently illegal content) should be treated equally by carriers. That means, for example, ... (view more)

iPhone May Ditch Buttons

John Lister — Wed, 08 May 2024 16:54:33 +0000

The next generation of the iPhone could have no physical buttons at all. The volume and power buttons could be replaced with sensors similar to the touchscreen itself. The news comes from leaks in the component manufacturing market that are normally reliable, though it's not certain the changes will come quickly enough for the iPhone 16's release, expected this summer. Similar rumors came before last year's iPhone 15, but Apple reportedly dropped plans because of manufacturing challenges. The theory of the latest rumors is that the physical buttons will be replaced with capacitive input. That ... (view more)

Some iPhone Users Could Bypass App Stores

John Lister — Mon, 06 May 2024 16:31:41 +0000

Apple has confirmed some users will be able to download iOS apps from websites rather than an app store. But the relaxation of rules comes with a major limitation. The new policy applies to European Union countries and is part of Apple's response to the Digital Markets Act. That's a new rule that says operators of services with a very large number of users in Europe must remove some barriers to competition. These generally include opening services up to third party access. That includes iOS apps were historically Apple has strictly enforced a rule that users can only install apps from its ... (view more)

Windows Fix Breaks Some VPNs

John Lister — Fri, 03 May 2024 16:57:00 +0000

Last month's Windows 10 and 11 updates included a bug that has broken VPN functions for some users. Microsoft is working on a fix but hasn't give a timescale. VPN stands for virtual private network. It's an approach to security and privacy that uses a secure connection between the user and the Internet. It's sometimes likened to a traffic tunnel: although the traffic still flows normally without disruption, it's not visible to anyone outside the tunnel. Using a VPN can disguise a user's IP address (which identifies their connection point to the Internet) and makes it much harder for anyone to ... (view more)

Youtube to Block Apps that Block its Ads

John Lister — Wed, 01 May 2024 17:04:34 +0000

YouTube says it will completely block third-party apps that show its videos with ads removed. It's the latest move in a crackdown on ad blocking that's provoked heated debate. The company has previously attempted to stop ad blocking in web browsers tools such as add-ons or extensions. These crackdowns have had mixed results, with some ad blocker developer continuing to stay one step ahead in a game of cat and mouse. Now YouTube has turned its attention to third-party apps that show videos from the site. This is done perfectly legally through an API, a software tool that websites can make ... (view more)

Microsoft Tests 'Ads' In Start Menu

John Lister — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 17:10:42 +0000

Microsoft is to run what are effectively ads in the Windows 11 Start menu. The "recommendations" will initially appear only for those who've signed up to be early testers of new features. The promotions will appear in the "Recommended" section at the bottom of the Start menu. This normally includes links to both installed apps and documents that the user has either recently used or frequently uses. The idea is that these are most likely to be what the user wants to open at any given moment. Insiders are Test Dummies The new feature will mean this list also includes suggested apps from the ... (view more)

FCC Launches Broadband 'Nutrition Labels'

John Lister — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 17:23:11 +0000

The FCC has launched "broadband labels" to help consumers compare different packages and providers. The labels are modeled on those used for nutritional information. The idea is to help consumers make more informed decisions about choosing a provider. The problem is that often it's a lack of choice that's the biggest barrier to getting good value Internet services. Most providers will need to start displaying the labels from this month, though those with fewer than 100,000 subscribers have until October to comply. Customers can complain to the FCC about missing or inaccurate labels. The FCC ... (view more)

Microsoft Issues Mega-Security Patch

John Lister — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 19:08:49 +0000

Microsoft has released one of the biggest Patch Tuesday updates ever. It includes 149 security fixes, including two "zero day bugs". Some reports suggest this is the most fixes in any monthly Microsoft update while others suggest it is "merely" the biggest in the past seven years. Either way, this is not a month for anyone who chooses to install Windows security fixes manually to hang about. Three of the fixes are for bugs Microsoft classes as "critical", meaning attackers could exploit them without requiring any action by the user. Almost all the rest are "important," meaning the attacker ... (view more)

'Find My Device' Works Even if Phone is Off

John Lister — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 17:03:46 +0000

Google has launched a "find my phone" feature that can work even after the battery has run out. It's part of a major upgrade delayed by a dispute with Apple, though privacy remains a hot topic. The big upgrade is to the "Find My Device" network of what Google says is more than a billion Android devices including phones, watches and earbuds. It aims to overcome the problems that it's not necessarily viable (or desirable) for all portable devices to constantly be connected to cellular networks or WiFi, broadcasting their location ready to be tracked by their owner. Instead the idea is that each ... (view more)

Google May Charge for Some Search Results

John Lister — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 16:25:23 +0000

Google is reportedly considering charging users to get AI-based search results. It would be the first time the company had a fee for using its search tools. The plans were revealed by the Financial Times, which says it got details from "three people with knowledge of [Google's] plans." The technology for the charging is already in development and it's now simply a case of deciding whether to go ahead with the plan. (Source: ft.com ) There's no suggestion whatsoever that Google will start charging for its core search engine results. Instead a subscription fee would apply to extra results ... (view more)

Microsoft Warns Of Gmail Spam Error

John Lister — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 18:25:39 +0000

Microsoft has warned Gmail is blocking messages from some Outlook users. It’s shared a workaround for the problem, caused by an overactive spam filter. The problem appears to be affecting users who have an Outlook email address that ends with a specific country domain rather than “.com”. When they send a message to a Gmail account, it’s undelivered. Instead, the sender gets an automated response reading: mx.google.com: Remote server returned message detected as spam -> 550 5.7.1 [[ IPAddress]] Gmail has detected that this message;is likely suspicious due to the very low reputation of the ... (view more)