Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Compatible handsets will get Windows 10 Mobile April 2018 Update

Square Microsoft store logo

The Windows 10 April 2018 Update rollout to PCs around the world has already started, and Microsoft says that the update will also make its way to compatible Windows 10 Mobile devices.

The number of people who will actually end up receiving this update, however, is likely to be rather limited. Microsoft says that the availability of Windows 10 Mobile April 2018 Update will vary according to "manufacturer, model, country or region, mobile operator or service provider, hardware limitations" and -- ominously -- "other factors".

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Email management service Unroll.Me to close in Europe because of GDPR

Unroll.Me logo

The new batch of privacy related legislations that's due to roll out across Europe later this month has claimed another victim -- Unroll.Me.

The email management service, which claims to help users "clean up your inbox", has announced that it is incompatible with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and will therefore close down in the EU on May 23. If you live in the EU, Unroll.Me will delete your account and you'll no longer be able to use the service.

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Microsoft's Meltdown patch for Windows 10 has a 'fatal flaw'

Spectre and Meltdown 3D renders

If you've not updated to Windows 10 April 2018 Update but you have installed Microsoft's Meltdown patches from a few months ago, your computer is vulnerable to a "fatal flaw".

This is not the first time a patch for the Meltdown vulnerability has led to problems with Windows, but previously it was Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 that were affected. A security researcher found that Microsoft's patch for Windows 10 "undermined the mitigation", and while the problem has been fixed in the April 2018, the company is still working on backporting an updated patch for older versions of Windows 10.

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OnePlus 6 specs leak ahead of the launch later this month

The OnePlus 6 is due to be revealed on May 16 and, as with just about every OnePlus device, details of the latest flagship have leaked out nice and early.

There have already been a number of rumors relating to the OnePlus 6 -- such as confirmation of the notch -- but now full specifications have appeared on the website of Chinese regulator TENAA. So what can you expect from the A6000, and will it be enough to warrant an upgrade from a OnePlus 5 or OnePlus 5T?

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Microsoft is working on a fix for Chrome and Cortana freezes in Windows 10 April 2018 Update

Windows 10 box with bugs

Microsoft launched Windows 10 April 2018 Update this week, and if you rushed to install it you may well have noticed one or two issues. There have been complaints that various apps have been problematic since the update, but Chrome and Cortana seem to be causing the most problems.

Microsoft has confirmed that it is aware of issues with Chrome and "Hey Cortana" that can lead to Windows 10 April 2018 Update freezing. A patch is currently being worked on and should be released next week, but the company has a couple of suggestions for fixes you can try in the meantime.

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Twitter warns all users to change passwords after 'bug' left credentials stored in plaintext

Twitter security logos and fingerprints

Twitter has issued a warning to its 330 million users, urging them to change their passwords. The security announcement comes after the company discovered a bug that left passwords stored in unencrypted form in internal logs.

While Twitter says that the bug has been fixed and that the plaintext logs have been deleted, it is encouraging the password change out of "an abundance of caution".

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Wag.com now redirects to Amazon and the company's new Wag pet brand

Amazon Wag.com

Branching out into yet another field, Amazon has launched its own pet product brand, Wag.

This is not the first time the company has launched an own-label product -- it has already enjoyed success with household goods and baby products. Available to Amazon Prime subscribers, the Wag line starts off with dry dog food, but it will expand into further supplies soon.

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Facebook's new Clear History privacy tool will let you stop third-party tracking and delete collected info

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At its F8 conference today, Facebook revealed details of an upcoming tool it is working on --- Clear History. The tool will let Facebook users not only see which sites and apps gather information about usage, but also let users delete this information.

The privacy-centric tool comes as the social network slowly comes to the realization "that people want more information about how Facebook works and the controls they have over their information". The ability to delete browsing histories from Facebook appears to be a direct response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal in which private data was shared without consent.

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There's still no 'dislike' option, but Facebook is testing upvote and downvote buttons with many users

Thumb up, thumb down

The Like button is synonymous with Facebook, and ever since its inception people have been clamoring for its nemesis to be added to the site. The arrival of 'reactions' two years ago pleased some people, as it gave them the opportunity to express a negative response to something -- but there was still no Dislike button.

The social network is currently testing a feature which is a step closer to the option people have been asking for for so long. Currently being trialed is a comment voting system that lets users upvote or downvote comments left by others.

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Privacy: How to disable Timeline in Windows 10 April 2018 Update

Data security watch face

We've already written quite a bit about Windows 10 April 2018 Update, and there's a reasonable chance that you've taken the plunge and installed it. While there are new features to get excited about, some have people more concerned than excited -- such as Timeline.

In theory, the feature sounds great, making it possible to synchronize your activities between devices, but it's also something of a privacy nightmare. Timelime -- by design and because of its very nature -- gathers a huge amount of information about you and what you do within Windows 10. Thankfully, you can disable it.

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Wikipedia now offers link previews -- but you can disable them

Wikipedia page

When you decide to look up anything on Wikipedia, you run the very serious risk of falling down a rabbit hole that will take you many hours to find your way back out of. To help avoid the problem of going off on too much of a tangent, the site recently introduced a new link preview feature.

It's a simple idea which means that it is possible to preview a page before you visit it, simply by hovering over the link. But it's not to everyone's taste. If you've noticed the new feature and want to kill it, you'll be pleased to hear that you can.

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Amazon now offers a smart home security installation service

Amazon Smart Home Security installation

Earlier today, we revealed that Amazon is bumping up the price of a Prime subscription by 20 percent, but this is not the only news coming from the online giant. A newly discovered and little-advertised portal on the Amazon site finds the company offering smart home security installation services.

Ranging in price from $240 to $840, the Smart Home Services packages include the cost of both hardware and installation. In all, there are five packages to choose from, covering everything from simple smart lighting, to full-home security systems.

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Office 2019 Preview is now available to download

Excel 2019

We already knew that Microsoft was planning to release previews of Office 2019 towards the middle of this year, and now the first one is here -- for some people, at least.

Microsoft has unveiled the Office 2019 Commercial Preview, and this is a chance for businesses to try out the latest version of the office suite. The PC version of the suite is a Windows 10 exclusive. Read on to find out how to get your hands on the software -- if, indeed, you can.

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Amazon Prime subscriptions increase to $119 in the US -- here's how to avoid the price hike

Amazon Prime boxes

At its earnings call yesterday, Amazon revealed that it is increasing the price of Amazon Prime by 20 percent for subscribers in the US.

The new price kicks in from May 11 for new subscribers, and from June 16 for those with existing subscriptions. The increase sees the cost of Prime jumping from $99 per year to $119, and Amazon has not yet given any indication that the hike will be implemented in other parts of the world. There's also a little trick that you can try that may enable you to avoid the price jump.

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Following Apple's lead from 2016, Microsoft, Facebook and Google replace gun emoji with water pistol

It is now two years since Apple decided that an image of a gun had no place as an emoji. The company replaced the handgun icon with an image of a water pistol, leading to a debate about whether it was the right thing to do.

With further serious shootings and gun crimes bringing firearms into the spotlight time and time again, more technology companies decided to follow suit. The latest names to follow Apple's lead are Microsoft, Facebook and Google, all of whom plan to kill the gun emoji and replace it with a water pistol.

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