OnePlus opens up about its secret data collection and promises an opt-out opportunity
Last week it emerged that OnePlus has been secretly gathering a huge amount of data from handsets, revealing a wealth of personally identifiable information about their users. Now the smartphone company has spoken out in response to the uproar, and vowed to give users the ability to opt out of data collection.
Company founder Carl Pei took to the OnePlus community forums to explain why data was collected, stressing that OnePlus takes privacy seriously. But while Pei promises that an update is on the way by the end of the month that will introduce the ability to opt out of telemetry, users are still not happy, and many questions remain -- particularly about the secrecy involved.
Download the Android Oreo beta for your OnePlus 3 or 3T
OnePlus has earned itself quite a reputation for pushing out new Android builds to its users, and it's no different with Android 8.0 Having previously announced that Oreo would be the last major update for the OnePlus 3 and 3T, the Chinese smartphone-maker has now made a beta version available to everyone.
Just last month, a closed group was given access to an early Oreo beta for the OnePlus 3, but now the OnePlus Open Beta program means that anyone who likes the idea of trying out Android 8.0 on their handset can do so.
How Apple put an end to iOS jailbreaking
"iPhone jailbreaking is dead" reads the headline. Four words signaling the end of a 10-year long battle between Apple and those who wanted open control of their iOS devices. Here is an admission in black and white that prominent members of the jailbreaking community are giving up on attacking iOS devices. Apple created a system where their engineers, like soldiers in a castle under siege, were able to outlast the besieging army; throwing back assault after assault, until the attackers, deciding the siege was no longer worthwhile, packed up and headed home.
Ten years ago, finding a jailbreak was fairly doable, though it required skill. As iOS jailbreaks became harder to find, however, they became more valuable. Zerodium publicly announced it would pay $1 million, now increased to $1.5 million, for a remote jailbreak flaw (e.g. remote code execution) on iOS. This effectively priced the jailbreak community out of the market for iOS vulnerabilities. Markets only assign commodities such value when they are rare and difficult to obtain. If somehow you remain unconvinced, consider that the last publicly available untethered (e.g. persistent across reboots) jailbreak was discovered over a year ago, and was part of the government-quality attack tool Pegasus. The current generation of jailbreaks require the user to run a jailbreak app every time they reboot.
G.SKILL unveils ultra-fast DDR4-4266MHz 32GB (4x8GB) Trident Z RGB memory kit
When you build a PC, you don't necessarily need the best and fastest. After all, most consumers have a specific budget with which to work. You don't want to blow your money on a top-of-the-line CPU and then buy no-name RAM or a flaky power supply. In other words, it is smart to balance things out.
But OK, if you do have a lot of money to spend, and you want the absolute best, I have some interesting news for you. Today, G.SKILL announces the world's fastest DDR4 32GB (4x8GB) RAM kit. Just how fast? An insane 4266MHz. Designed with special Samsung B-die DDR4 ICs, this RAM is made to work with the latest 8th Gen Intel Core processors. With that said, compatibility will likely vary from motherboard to motherboard, so keep that in mind when purchasing -- if you can even afford this kit.
Fear of cyber attacks holding Office 365 adoption back
Businesses in the EMEA region re increasingly using Microsoft’s Office 365 solutions, but they’re doing it with a dose of fear from cyber-attacks and similar malicious actions. This was concluded in the new Barracuda Networks report, entitled Office 365 Adoption: Drivers, Risks and Opportunities.
Based on a poll of more than 1,100 organizations in EMEA, the report says almost two thirds (62 percent) are now using Office 365. This is a jump from last year’s 50 percent. Of those that still don’t use the service, almost half (40 percent) said they’re planning to do so in the future (49 percent in the US).
Microsoft rolling out Windows 10 Fall Creators Update cumulative update Build 16299.19
Windows Insiders who haven’t yet updated to the new Windows 10 RS4 build released today (and there may be many, as we're hearing reports of problems with its deployment), have a cumulative update heading their way.
Build 16299.19 (KB4043961) is currently rolling out to Windows Insiders running Build 16299.15 (the Fall Creators Update RTM), and offers a number of quality improvements.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17017 to the Fast ring and Skip Ahead
Last week, Microsoft rolled out Build 16299.15 -- the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update RTM -- to Insiders on the Fast ring, and then also released it to those on the Slow and Release Preview rings.
The official Fall Creators Update rollout starts next week, meaning we’re now starting to see builds from the Redstone 4 (RS4) branch making their way to Insiders, as the Fast and Skip Ahead branches merge. Build 17017 for PC arrives today in time for the weekend, introducing some useful new features.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 Fall Creators Update SDK
Microsoft took the Windows Developer Day as an opportunity to release a couple of new features and announce some fairly big changes to some of its best-known platforms
Among the biggest things announced are the launch of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update SDK. With the new SDK, which was in preview until now, developers will be able to submit everything they do, including apps, games and updates, to the Microsoft Store.
How secure is today's encryption against quantum computers?
Encryption is an excellent way of protecting sensitive data from compromise. It is commonly accepted that once information is securely encrypted, it is safe from prying eyes and sabotage both now and in the foreseeable future.
However, the long-term security offered by many encryption systems (also known as cryptosystems) is under severe threat. A new type of computer -- the quantum computer -- has been theoretically proven to break most of today’s commonly used cryptosystems, and such a computer is predicted to be available within 15 years.
Coinbase now offers instant Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin purchases
Buying cryptocurrency is not as easy as you might think. It also takes longer than you might expect, which is a problem when you want to take advantage of an opportunity in this market as quickly as possible.
Coinbase seems to have solved this issue, announcing that customers will be able to instantly buy Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin using their bank account. Prior to this change, they had to wait several days for the purchased coins to be available.
Women boycott Twitter to protest against women's voices being silenced
The sexual abuse and harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein are having some interesting side effects. Having temporarily banned actress Rose McGowan from its platform, Twitter today finds itself at the center of a boycott.
While it was initially thought that McGowan had been booted from the site for speaking out about Weinstein, Twitter insists it took action because she shared a private phone number in a tweet. But other users are making Friday the 13th an unlucky day for Twitter via the #WomenBoycottTwitter hashtag. Many women are choosing to boycott the site completely today to protest against the silencing of women, while others are using the trending topic to help raise awareness of abuse.
Get 'The Evolutionary Leader' ($9.95 value) FREE for a limited time
In The Evolutionary Leader, Timothy J. Carroll, a world class athlete and consultant to Fortune 500 companies, shares 5 practical steps to dramatically develop people and performance.
In his role of developing leaders worldwide, Timothy discusses the biggest challenges leaders face and provides solutions to overcome them. Evolutionary leaders are revolutionary by nature, and this handbook answers the following questions, providing proven tools on how to perform out of your mind:
Enterprises not confident they can protect mobile data traffic
While companies are becoming increasingly dependent on mobile workers and distributed offices, a new survey reveals that IT staff are not confident they can protect remote workers.
The study by distributed gateway platform supplier iboss also finds that senior (CEO, CIO, CISO, and CTO) respondents are more confident in their organizations' ability to secure mobile traffic than more junior IT executives. 56 percent of CIOs, CISOs, and CTOs were not confident they could secure mobile traffic compared to 80 percent of subordinate IT executives.
Another Equifax security alert as support page leads to malicious fake Flash updates
Things have not been good for Equifax -- or its customers -- recently. Following a huge data breach earlier in the year, the credit reporting company has now suffered a new blow after it was discovered one of its support pages was redirecting to malware masquerading as Flash updates.
Just last month, Equifax revealed a security breach from May that exposed the personal details of around 145.5 million Americans and 15.2 million people from the UK. Now the company site has been found delivering fake Flash updates, and the offending page has been taken down.
Download Microsoft Edge preview for Android
Microsoft only recently announced that its Edge browser would be coming to both iOS and Android -- and now the company is making good on its promise. A preview version of Microsoft Edge (described by the software giant as "unreleased") is now available on Google Play.
Based on Chrome's Blink engine, Edge for Android has a particular treat for anyone using Windows 10 Fall Creators Update -- they can take advantage of the "continue on PC" feature. This lets users start browsing the web on their phones, and then switch to a computer and pick up from where they left off.
Recent Headlines
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.