Ubuntu-maker Canonical's GitHub account hacked
Canonical -- the company behind the Ubuntu Linux distro -- is investigating an attack on its GitHub account over the weekend.
On Saturday, hackers were able to break into Canonical's GitHub account and create a number of new repositories. Named CAN_GOT_HAXXD, the eleven repositories were empty and have now been removed. Canonical says that no source code was accessed, but it is not yet known who carried out the attack.
Mozilla set to offer ad-free browsing in Firefox for $5
Advertising is the lifeblood of many websites, but at the same time it is something that few people are fans of. To stave off income-killing ad-blockers, an increasing number of sites offer per-article or per-month subscriptions that give people the chance to enjoy content free of ads while still supporting the sites they love.
Mozilla has a different idea -- "Ad-free internet by Firefox". The result of a partnerships with multiple online publishers, the idea is that a single, low subscription fee gives you access to a number of sites with the ads removed.
Chinese border officers are gathering data from tourists' phones with a secret spy app
China's track record with privacy violations, control of the internet and control of its citizens is well known. But now anyone who has ever visited the country has cause for concern.
Enter China via the border crossing between Xinjiang and Kyrgyzstan, and you're required to hand over your phone -- unlocked. This would obviously lead the owner to expect a little rooting around by officials, but an investigation has found that border officials are actually installing secret spy apps on iPhones and Android phones to scour emails, texts and other data stored on devices.
Compatibility issues stand in the way of installing Windows 10 May 2019 Update on some Macs
Some Mac users -- who, thanks to Boot Camp, are running Windows 10 on their Apple machine -- are encountering a problem upgrading to Windows 10 May 2019 Update (version 1903).
A compatibility issue with the Mac HAL Driver (machaldriver.sys) is blocking the installation. The problem remains more than two months after the May 2019 Update was released, and Microsoft is still working away on a solution.
YAWN! Windows 10 19H2 is shaping up to be a dull release
It is looking as though the next "feature update" for Windows 10 -- known as 19H2 to Insiders -- will be a little light on, er, features. In really, it seems as though Microsoft is treating the next big update very much like a service pack release.
The news comes from Microsoft as the company sets out its plans for "evolving Windows 10 servicing and quality". In short, if you were looking forward to exciting new things to try out later this year, it might be a good idea to recalibrate your expectations.
Windows 10 is not creating registry backups -- and is lying about it
Towards the latter end of last year, it was noticed that Windows 10 was no longer creating backups of the registry. It was assumed to be a bug as the scheduled task that was used to create the backup still existed, and it was also indicated that the task had been a success.
This was a lie. No registry backup was created, meaning potentially millions of users were left without a reliable way of rolling back the registry to an earlier time. Now Microsoft has explained what's going on, and says that the lack of registry backups is intentional.
EA fixes a 'chain of vulnerabilities' that could have put millions of Origin gamers at risk
EA has fixed a series of security issues on its Origin gaming service which could have been exploited by attackers to take control of user accounts and gain access to personal data.
EA Origin's security flaws meant that more than 300 million gamers were put at risk. Israeli security firms Check Point said that attackers could take advantage of a "chain of vulnerabilities" to attack players of games such as FIFA, Maden NFL, NBA Live, UFC, The Sims, Battlefield, Command and Conquer, and Medal of Honor.
Warning: In just a few days, the ebooks you've purchased from Microsoft will vanish
It's a little while since Microsoft announced that is dropping the Books category from the Microsoft Store, but a serious deadline is now looming.
If you have bought books or downloaded free books from the Store, you only have a few more days to read them -- so if there are any you haven't finished, you'd better start reading quickly! While no specific date has been announced, Microsoft warns that you'll only be able to read your books "until early July 2019".
Microsoft notifies users whose systems are 'not quite ready' for Windows 10 May 2019 Update
The Windows 10 May 2019 Update (that is, Windows 10 version 1903) has caused problems for a number of people, and there are various issues that stand in the way of getting hold of the upgrade.
Rather than pushing out a problematic update to systems that it knows will not have a great experience, Microsoft has made a couple of decisions. Not only is the company blocking updates for computers with known compatibility issues, it is also starting to notify users that this is what's happening.
Millions of Microsoft Excel users vulnerable to remote DDE attack as new exploit is discovered
Security researchers from Mimecast Threat Center have discovered an Excel exploit that could leave 120 million users vulnerable to attack.
The security flaw means that it is possible to use Excel's Power Query tool to dynamically launch a remote Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) attack on a spreadsheet and actively control the payload. The researchers also found that Power Query could be used to embed malicious code in a data source and spread malware.
Windows 10 bug could slow shutdown by over a minute
It's usually the speed of a computer when using it that is of interest, but it's also important to factor in startup and shutdown times. Microsoft just confirmed a new bug in Windows 10 -- specifically Windows 10 October 2018 Update (1809) -- that could dramatically slow down shutdown and sleep times in some circumstances.
The problem relates to USB Type-C devices, and while it has been fixed in Windows 10 version 1903, anyone using version 1809 remains affected and needs to be aware of the issue.
Amazon Prime Day 2019 will last two full days
You'd think there was a clue in the name when it comes to determining how long Amazon's annual Prime Day lasts. But no. Not content with having stretched out the event for a day and a half last year, this time around Prime Day is actually two days long.
This means that you'll have a massive 48 hours to bathe in naked consumerism -- and hopefully bag yourself a bargain or two along the way. Amazon has already shared details of some of the deals you can expect to see on July 15 and 16.
NordVPN has a new password manager in the pipeline -- NordPass
NordVPN -- as its name suggests -- is perhaps most readily associated with its privacy and security-focused VPN solutions. But this is not all the company has to offer.
Having already released a file encryption service in the form of NordLocker, NordVPN has now revealed that it has a new password management tool. Due for release later this year, NordPass has been designed to be secure yet simple to use, and NordVPN is trying to help people from making the mistake of using the same password everywhere.
Firefox embraces Microsoft BITS to install updates
Starting with Firefox 68, Mozilla's web browser began to use Microsoft BITS (Background Intelligent Transfer Service) to deliver updates -- the same technique that is used by Windows Update.
With the arrival of Firefox 70, BITS will be utilized with a dedicated update agent in place as a proxy rather than simply being part of the browser itself, allowing updates to be more easily installed.
Steam will not support Ubuntu 19.10 onwards
It is only a few days since Canonical announced that it was dropping support for 32-bit packages as of Ubuntu 19.10. The fall out from this is now being felt.
While there were many developers who were not happy with the decision, Linux-based gamers are now likely to be more than slightly annoyed. Steam has announced that "Ubuntu 19.10 and future releases will not be officially supported by Steam or recommended to our users".
Sofia Elizabella's Bio
Sofia Wyciślik-Wilson is a queer, transgender journalist based in Poland. She has been writing about technology for more than two decades, and after years working for magazines, her writing moved online. She is fueled by literature, music, nature, and vegetables. You can find her on Bluesky and Mastodon. If you like what you read, you can Buy her a Coffee!
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