Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Google is killing off the Data Saver extension for Chrome

Google logo on white wood

If you're a Chrome user with the Data Saver extension installed, there's some bad news. Google has announced that with the desktop version of Chrome 74, the extension is being deprecated.

Data Saver is not going away completely, however. It will remain, exclusively, in the Android version of the web browser where it will be known as Lite mode. While this is great for mobile users looking to reduce their data usage, it's a little strange that desktop users won't also be afforded the ability to enjoy a data-light, faster internet experience.

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UK bans Huawei from supplying 'core' parts of 5G network

Huawei 5G

Amid concerns about the company's security, and its possible links to the Chinese government, Huawei has been banned from providing essential parts of the UK's 5G network.

The Chinese telecoms firm has already been hit with bans and restrictions in the US and other parts of the world, and Huawei has been criticized for its "very, very shoddy" security. Now UK prime minister Theresa May has taken advice from the National Security Council and implemented a partial ban on Huawei's involvement in 5G in the UK, permitting it to only supply "non-core" technology.

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Microsoft decides to keep Paint in Windows 10... for now

Pots of paint

For all of its simplicity and limitations, there are still a lot of people who -- for some reason best known to themselves -- love Microsoft Paint.

As such, when it was announced a while back that Microsoft intended to strip the utility from Windows 10 and replace it with Paint 3D -- an altogether different beast -- there was a collective wailing and gnashing of teeth. But now it seems that Paint has been given a stay of execution.

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Microsoft displays warning messages in Windows 7 about the impending end of support

Windows 7 end of support message

Windows 7 users have started to report the appearance of a pop-up message from Microsoft informing them that support for the operating system is coming to an end.

While this will not come as a surprise to everyone, not all Windows 7 users will be aware that Microsoft is on the verge of dropping the ageing OS. We have already seen pop-ups encouraging users to update to Windows 10 but now Microsoft is turning up the pressure, telling Windows 7 users: "After 10 years, support for Windows 7 is nearing the end".

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OnePlus 7 series will be revealed May 14

OnePlus 7 Series launch

OnePlus has announced that it is going to reveal its OnePlus 7 series on May 14.

At an event in three weeks' time in London, New York, Bangalore and Beijing, the company says it will "showcase the power of all-new OnePlus 7 Series", which is expected to include the OnePlus 7, the OnePlus 7 Pro, and a 5G handset. OnePlus also promises "several surprise announcements".

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Samsung officially announces postponement of Galaxy Fold

Samsung Galaxy Fold

Bringing to an end rumors and speculation, Samsung has officially announced that it is postponing the launch of its Galaxy Fold smart phone.

The $2,000 foldable phone was due to launch this week, but models sent out to some reviewers have proved problematic. Having already announced the delay of the phone in China, unconfirmed reports suggested a global postponement. Samsung has now confirmed this with an official statement.

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Report: Samsung delays the launch of Galaxy Fold until at least May

Two Samsung building logos

Following the news that Samsung is postponing Galaxy Fold launch events in China this week, it now seems that the US release of the handset has been pushed back until at least May. This will come as little surprise to anyone who has been following new about the Galaxy Fold recently.

There have been numerous reports of Fold handsets that have been sent out to reviewers suffering with the hinged display, and it's looking rather like Samsung has decided it makes sense to hold back the launch until things have been properly investigated. UPDATE: Samsung has now confirmed the Galaxy Fold launch has been postponed.

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Samsung Galaxy Fold launch delayed in China

Samsung Galaxy Fold

Despite the hype and excitement surrounding the first batch of foldable smartphones, the image of the Samsung Galaxy Fold has been tarnished before the device has even launched. There have been numerous reports of serious problems with handsets sent out for review, and now Samsung has delayed the launch of the phone in China.

Two launch events were due to be held this week on Tuesday and Wednesday for the $2,000 phone, but these have been postponed. For now, it is just the Chinese launch events that are affected, and it is not clear if Samsung will also delay launch events in other countries.

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Is Huawei funded by Chinese state security? The CIA seems to think so

Four Huawei signs

Huawei has had a rough time of things when it comes to international relations, with the US and others implementing various bans on the use of the company's products. It all stems from fears about Huawei's alleged connections to the Chinese government and the potential for espionage, but this is something the company has denied time and time again.

The US has made no secret of its doubts about Huawei, and the fears have spread around the globe. Now, according to a report, the CIA has issued a warning to the UK saying that the firm has received funding from Chinese state security.

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Millions of people still have pathetically weak, easily hacked passwords

Wooden password

That people are lazy is not news. Ditto the fact that people like to make things as easy for themselves as possible. These two facts do not work well when it comes to security and passwords, as a new study reveals.

Analysis carried out by the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) found that huge numbers of people are still -- despite continued advice -- using weak, easy-to-guess passwords to secure their accounts. The most commonly used password on breached accounts was found to be 123456, and there were plenty of others that were similarly insecure. The NCSC, in conjunction with Have I Been Pwned's Troy Hunt, has also published a list of the 100,000 most common passwords globally.

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Microsoft may have abandoned Sets in Windows 10 -- what now for app tabs?

Windows 10 boxes

In what will come as something of a disappointment to many, Microsoft seems to have decided to abandon the Sets feature of Windows 10. This highly-anticipated feature was to bring tabs to apps, making it easier to work with multiple instances of the same program.

In the middle of last year, though, Microsoft removed Sets from Insider builds of Windows 10,  promising that the feature would return in a future build. But a tweet from senior program manager Rich Turner suggests that Sets is no more... although that might not mean that app tabs are completely off the agenda.

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Chromium-based Microsoft Edge pretends to be different browsers by switching user agent

Edge in disguise

The new Chromium-based version of Microsoft Edge has generated a good deal of attention, and an intriguing feature of the browser has been noticed that makes it all the more interesting.

It has been noted that Edge switches between user agents depending on the sites visited, effectively pretending to be a different web browser. This enables Edge to take advantage of web sites features designed for a specific browser.

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Bosque is Microsoft's new open source, TypeScript-inspired programming language

Microsoft sign on building

If you're thinking of learning a programming language, there are certainly plenty to choose from -- and Microsoft has just added a new one for you to consider. Inspired partly by TypeScript and partly by Node.js, Bosque is an open source language which tries to keep things simple.

Microsoft says that one of the main aims with Bosque is to create code that is simple for both humans and machines to read, eliminating "accidental complexity".

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Download Android Studio 3.4 complete with Android Q emulator

Android Studio Q

Google has released its latest version of Android Studio, the tool used by developers to create Android apps.

Android Studio 3.4 is now available on the stable channel and as well as hundreds of big fixes, there's also a new version of the Android Emulator complete with support for the Android Q beta. The tool is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.

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How to delete the contacts that Facebook may have scraped from you

Trash can button

With its invasive advertising, scant regard for privacy, and often poor approach to security, Facebook has done little over the years to win itself many friends. But to help boost your list of friends, it is possible that Facebook may have uploaded your email contacts without your knowledge.

The aim of this was to help find people you might know on the social network, but as there was little warning about the uploading of such private and sensitive information, there was an understandable backlash. If you're concerned about what Facebook has uploaded on your behalf, here's how to delete the contacts that may have been scraped from you.

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