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Shocker: Adobe Flash has another critical vulnerability

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Apr 2016 12:42

Shocker: Adobe Flash has another critical vulnerability For the millionth time, Adobe's much-maligned Flash software has another critical vulnerability that affects millions.

The zero-day vulnerability lets attackers take control of a user's system, crash a user's system, and steal private information. Even worse, attackers are currently using the exploit so every unpatched system is potentially in trouble.

Adobe says all desktop versions of Flash are affected, including OS X, Windows and Linux.

Read more and get the update here: Adobe




AfterDawn: News

Uber settles with California regulators for up to $25 million over background checks, airport permits

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 08 Apr 2016 11:14

Uber settles with California regulators for up to $25 million over background checks, airport permits Uber has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by California regulators in regards to a lack of proper background checks on drivers.

The ride hailing startup will pay up to $25 million to settle with the district attorneys of San Francisco and Los Angeles. The suit had also alleged that Uber was out of compliance for not getting proper licenses for airport dropoffs and pickups.

Regulators had found evidence that Uber failed to screen out 25 drivers who had serious criminal records, including a couple with convictions for murder and kidnapping.

Uber says it has already gotten back into compliance for the misleading ads about their background checks and the airports permits, and they expect to pay the minimum $10 million in fines, rather than the full $25 million if they fall out of compliance again.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Almost 20 million Netflix users are about to see a price increase

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 08 Apr 2016 10:06

Almost 20 million Netflix users are about to see a price increase An estimated 20 million Netflix subscribers are about to see their monthly price increase.

Since last year, many longtime subscribers have been grandfathered at $7.99 per month, but that price is set to go up to $9.99 per month beginning on May 8th.

A recent survey showed that 80 percent of affected Netflix users had no idea their prices were going up, at all, so this is a good PSA to those that are currently paying $7.99 per month.

No matter, there is little to complain about for the price, thanks to hits like Daredevil, Orange is the New Black and House of Cards.




AfterDawn: News

Sony PlayStation 3.50 system software update available now

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 Apr 2016 12:40

Sony PlayStation 3.50 system software update available now Sony's latest major PS4 system software update is available now.

Version 3.50 (codenamed MUSASHI) adds some highly-awaited features including an expansion of remote play and the ability to hide your online status.

The full change list (via Sony):

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AfterDawn: News

Twitter wins rights to stream Thursday night football games

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 Apr 2016 12:29

Twitter wins rights to stream Thursday night football games In a surprise, Twitter announced earlier this week that it had secured the rights to stream Thursday night NFL games.

Other high-profile bidders included Amazon, Facebook and Verizon, which makes the new deal even more shocking since each of those tech giants has an established infrastructure for streaming.

Twitter will stream 10 of the 16 games on next season's slate - the same games that CBS and NBC will be broadcasting. Twitter is also looking to stream the games via their apps on consoles and set-tops.

According to reports, Twitter paid just $10 million for the rights, which is half the price that Yahoo paid last season to broadcast just one game that was being paid in London. It's also a fraction of the $450 million that CBS and NBC paid combined for the rights to show the games on TV with their own digital ad inventory. Reportedly, Twitter will just be rebroadcasting the CBS and NBC feeds of the games, with rights to sell a tiny portion of ads.

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AfterDawn: News

STARZ launches standalone streaming service

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Apr 2016 11:19

STARZ launches standalone streaming service Premium pay television channel STARZ has announced the launch of its standalone streaming service for $8.99 per month.

Similar to offerings from HBO and Showtime, you can watch thousands of TV episodes and movies through consoles, mobile devices, and set-tops although the company does offer something that rivals do not - download capabilities.

"With the growing consumer appetite for our highly-rated, award–winning and diverse original programmingca and vast library of movies, our elegant and powerful app is the first in the industry to allow download capability to watch premium content anytime, anywhere, without the need for Wi-Fi access. Showcasing the rebranded STARZ offerings we announced last month, we believe this innovative app will also help fortify the broadband business of many of our traditional distributors and be even more appealing for inclusion in future video bundles," says the company.

The service promises to allow up to 4 users to watch simultaneously, and downloads are unlimited while you have a subscription. If you have Starz via a cable/satellite subscription, you can use the app, as well, authenticating using your ISP or cable provider login.

"Starz has entered the market today with an enormous value proposition for consumers. Our programming will now be more widely available to the 20 million broadband-only homes of cord nevers, cord cutters and cord shavers, including Millennials and other underserved consumers who need other viable subscription service options," added Starz in their press release.

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AfterDawn: News

WhatsApp just launched end-to-end encryption for all communications

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Apr 2016 10:57

WhatsApp just launched end-to-end encryption for all communications Popular messaging app WhatsApp has launched end-to-end encryption for all communication, making it the largest service to do so.

The company, which has over 1 billion users, says that you must always use the latest version of the app to keep the privacy and the recipient must also. The encryption extends to phone calls, messages, photos, videos and files sent.

Says WhatsApp: "The idea is simple: when you send a message, the only person who can read it is the person or group chat that you send that message to. No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us. End-to-end encryption helps make communication via WhatsApp private – sort of like a face-to-face conversation.

We live in a world where more of our data is digitized than ever before. Every day we see stories about sensitive records being improperly accessed or stolen. And if nothing is done, more of people's digital information and communication will be vulnerable to attack in the years to come. Fortunately, end-to-end encryption protects us from these vulnerabilities."

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Phil Spencer: Next Xbox won't be Xbox 1.5

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 03 Apr 2016 3:06

Phil Spencer: Next Xbox won't be Xbox 1.5 Over the past few weeks, we have heard rumors that Sony is working on an incremental upgrade to the PlayStation 4, for now, known as the PS4K due to its upgrades for 4K gaming.

It appears that rival Microsoft will not be following in the same footsteps (if the rumors end up being true).

Xbox boss Phil Spencer says if the company releases new hardware, fans should not expect "an Xbox One-and-a-Half," but rather a next-generation console.

"I'm not a big fan of Xbox One and a half. If we're going to move forward, I want to move forward in big numbers... For us, our box is doing well," says Spencer. "It performs, it's reliable, the servers are doing well. If we're going to go forward with anything, like I said, I want it to be a really substantial change for people–an upgrade."

Of course, everything is speculation for the time being but it is nice to see Microsoft thinking ahead.

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AfterDawn: News

Google unveils Chromebase all-in-one for businesses

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 03 Apr 2016 2:47

Google unveils Chromebase all-in-one for businesses Google has launched a new Chrome OS-based all-in-one, the Chromebase, for businesses in need of secure video conferencing in smaller meeting areas.

The company says the Chromebase is a "secure, self updating, easy to manage unit that builds on Chrome and WebRTC innovations for sharper video, audio and screen sharing. Guest account support makes it simple to join a meeting even without a Google account: Just click a meeting link invitation and you're connected."

Chromebase has a 24-inch adjustable touchscreen display, an integrated, adjustable HD camera, 4 microphones and 2 stereo speakers on the hardware end. On the software side, Google has announced "new features to our remote fleet management tools. Administrators can receive alert notifications and track health of their fleet of Chrome devices for meetings. They can remotely diagnose and troubleshoot audio, video quality and bandwidth problems. Administrators can also customize the interface using their own background images."

Chromebase for meetings is available for $799 in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland and Australia and it comes with a free year of management and support fees.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

FBI will help local authorities unlock iPhones

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 03 Apr 2016 2:00

FBI will help local authorities unlock iPhones According to a new report, FBI officials will help local law enforcement in unlocking iPhones and other electronic devices.

The FBI recently admitted they were able to break into a terrorist's iPhone using a third-party technique, and it appears that other agencies want help with devices of alleged criminals of their own.

In response, the FBI sent the following letter:

Since recovering an iPhone from one of the San Bernardino shooters on December 3, 2015, the FBI sought methods to gain access to the data stored on it. As the FBI continued to conduct its own research, and as a result of the worldwide publicity and attention generated by the litigation with Apple, others outside the U.S. government continued to contact the U.S. government offering avenues of possible research. In mid-March, an outside party demonstrated to the FBI a possible method for unlocking the iPhone. That method for unlocking that specific iPhone proved successful.

We know that the absence of lawful, critical investigative tools due to the "Going Dark" problem is a substantial state and local law enforcement challenge that you face daily. As has been our longstanding policy, the FBI will of course consider any tool that might be helpful to our partners. Please know that we will continue to do everything we can to help you consistent with our legal and policy constraints. You have our commitment that we will maintain an open dialogue with you. We are in this together.

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AfterDawn: News

Fitbit's latest sell 1 million units, each

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 03 Apr 2016 1:42

Fitbit's latest sell 1 million units, each Fitbit's latest wearables, the $200 Blaze and the $130 Alta, are both hits, selling 1 million units each.

The fitness trackers went on sale earlier this month and there had been questions as to whether consumers would be willing to pay up for such devices.

"At Fitbit, we continue to focus on developing innovative and motivating fitness-first products that our customers love and that help them achieve their health and fitness goals," Woody Scal, Chief Business Officer of Fitbit, wrote in the statement. "The positive response we've received to Blaze and Alta demonstrates our continued ability to innovate and drive strong demand for Fitbit products, which is what has made and kept us the leader in the global wearables category."

Regardless of the strong sales, Fitbit will have to do a bit more to appease investors who have seen the company's stock fall from a high of $50 to a recent low of $12.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Apple's new tech will automatically scan songs and remove curses

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 03 Apr 2016 12:27

Apple's new tech will automatically scan songs and remove curses Apple has been granted a patent for "Management, Replacement and Removal of Explicit Lyrics during Audio Playback," giving the company technology that will automatically scan any streaming song online and remove any curses.

The company filed for the patent in September 2014, in efforts to make streaming services more family-friendly.

Apple says the tech can actually replace the swear words with beeping noises or with non-curse lyrics, similar to how cable channels replace curses when playing movies. Additionally, Apple says the tech is powerful enough to remove the words completely, leaving the background music to continue to play seamlessly.

Finally, Apple's patent also extends to audio books, suggesting Apple could edit out swear words or other explicit scenes from audio books to make them more child and young adult-friendly.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Report: iOS 9.3 is most stable operating system yet

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 Apr 2016 10:37

Report: iOS 9.3 is most stable operating system yet According to mobile app analytics firm Apteligent, iOS 9.3 is the most stable Apple operating system yet.

The latest release has a crash rate of 2.2 percent, far lower than previous releases and even lower than Google's Android 6.0, which currently has a crash rate of 2.6 percent.

As of writing, the "most stable" OS is still in the midst of a couple of major bugs. Some users cannot click on hyperlinks in certain apps (Apple will issue a fix soon) and a worse bug where users could not activate their Apple account in order to complete the upgrade.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Microsoft has added new extensions to its Edge browser

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 Apr 2016 8:58

Microsoft has added new extensions to its Edge browser Earlier this week, Microsoft launched new extensions for its Edge browser, which until recently, had none.

The company has added extensions for Pinterest, Amazon, Evernote, LastPass, Reddit, Adblock and Adblock Plus, major companies with millions of customers. Edge is still far behind in the extension department, however, where Chrome and Firefox offer thousands of extensions of all types.

There had been rumors that Microsoft was planning on adding native ad-blocking through Edge, but the company clarified that the experience would be through third-parties, namely Adblock and Adblock Plus (currently).

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Leaked images show Android-powered Nokia A1 smartphone

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 Apr 2016 8:22

Leaked images show Android-powered Nokia A1 smartphone According to new "trusted" sources, Android Authority says there is an Android-powered Nokia smartphone in the works.

Known as the Nokia A1 (as of now), the device is expected to ship in the summer.

Unlike past Nokia devices, which were usually colorful and round, the new device has a dark, generic design including a plastic back.

The device appears to be running Android 6.x, with Nokia's Z Launcher overlay to enhance. The specs are still unclear, but the source claims the A1 features a 5.5-inch, 1080p display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652. Those specs would place the device squarely in the mid-range, where Nokia used to live and may again soon.





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