What is the Presidential Alert text from the National Wireless Emergency Alert System?

Presidential Alert text

Today -- Wednesday October 3 -- your phone will receive a text message; assuming you're in the US, that is, and use Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T or Sprint as your carrier. The text should arrive from 11:18AM PT / 2:18PM ET, and it will feature the dramatic heading of Presidential Alert.

You may be reading this because you wonder what on Earth is going on -- particularly if your phone has made a strange noise -- but there's nothing to worry about. Not this time, anyway.

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Android rooting tool SuperSU disappears from Play Store

SuperSU

If you haven't already made the jump to Magisk to cater for your handset rooting needs, now is very much the time to do so. The long-popular SuperSU has been removed from the Google Play Store, meaning one of the most popular rooting tools has been lost.

The disappearance is not entirely surprising as SuperSU has not been updated for some time and plenty of other root apps have grown in popularity -- but it will still come as a disappointment for its many fans.

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One in four cyberattacks targets ordinary users

Targeted user

While the majority of cyberattacks are aimed at businesses and other organizations, an increasing number are targeting ordinary users, according to the latest report from Positive Technologies.

The most attractive targets were personal data (30 percent) and credentials (22 percent), especially for online banking. To steal this data, attackers compromised a wide range of websites, including web stores, ticket vendors, and hotel booking services.

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Behavioral analysis used to predict cybersecurity threats

Data security watch face

Internet of Things security specialist ZitoVault has patented a new means of predicting upcoming cybersecurity events.

While most existing approaches only address the real-time detection of threats or anomalies based on a limited set of pre-established data points, ZitoVault's latest patent uses a new approach.

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Behold, Honor 8X!

Android smartphones are largely all the same these days. I mean, look, they are rectangular slabs that can run apps, surf the web, and take photos. Sure, specifications can vary, but for the most part, all modern Android phones are powerful enough to all run apps wonderfully. With that said, why would you spend a fortune on one? If you can score a solid smartphone without breaking the bank, you totally should!

If you want an elegant and inexpensive Android phone, look no further than Honor. That is Huawei's budget-friendly brand, but you know what? Low cost does not mean low quality. Today, the company officially launches the Honor 8X -- a drop-dead gorgeous Android smartphone with very respectable internals and a huge 6.5 inch display. Much like the iPhone Xs, you can unlock the device with your face, but unlike Apple's offering, it also has a fingerprint reader -- nice! Believe it or not, the Honor 8X even has a 3.5mm audio jack -- crazy, right? I guess Honor isn't as courageous as Apple! And yes, it has a notch, because... why notch?

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Financial services breaches triple since 2016

Broken piggy bank

2018 has seen nearly three times as many breaches at financial services organizations as there were in 2016, according to a new report.

The study by cloud access security broker Bitglass finds there have been 103 breaches in this year’s report compared to just 37 two years ago.

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Love Dynamic Desktop? Move up to 24 Hour Wallpaper

We’ve worked for years with potential eye strain and it’s only recently we’re taking it seriously. The first step was Apple adding a warmer edge to the desktop panel, so by the end of the day you wouldn’t be looking at an LCD displaying sharp blue light.

Mojave introduced Dynamic Desktop, which will transition your wallpaper, so it matches both the time of day, your location and the ever-changing sunrise/sunset. Dynamic Desktop will show a bright wallpaper middle of the day, but by 10pm you’ll be seeing a nighttime scene.

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How to access Google's secret text adventure game

Broken Google logo

Google is well known for hiding Easter eggs in its software and tools, and a new little treat has just been discovered. Hidden in Google Chrome's developer console is a text adventure game.

While this is not exactly The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and it's unlikely to draw you away from Fortnite or Assassin's Creed, the game is a simple delight like Chrome's jumping dinosaur. Here's how to access it.

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Google is trying to make Chrome extensions safer with new Chrome Web Store review process and permission controls

Chrome icon with a padlock

Extensions are a great way to increase the capabilities of your web browser, but they can also be the source of problems. Malicious extensions can be a serious headache, and this is something that Chrome users know more than most. Now Google is looking to improve security.

The company has already promised that with Chrome 70 it is going to give users more privacy controls, and today it announced that this version of the browser will also introduce permission controls extensions. On top of this Google is introducing a new review process for extensions submitted to the Chrome Web Store, as well as placing a ban on extensions with obfuscated code.

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Microsoft re-open-sources early versions of MS-DOS on GitHub

MS-DOS

Back in 2014, Microsoft gave the source code for MS-DOS 1.25 and MS-DOS 2.0 to the Computer History Museum. Now -- in a move it describes as "re-open-sourcing" -- the company has pushed the code to GitHub for all to see.

Dating from mid-1983, the source code may moisten the eyes of anyone who remembers the days of text-based operating systems, and it gives an interesting glimpse into the world of software development a few decades ago.

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NetMarketShare shows Windows 10's share falling, Windows 7 rising

Usage share monitoring service StatCounter saw Windows 10 overtake Windows 7 back in February, and its latest figures put the new operating system on 50.07 percent, well ahead of Windows 7 on 37.2 percent.

Rival monitoring service NetMarketShare disagrees however. While Windows 10 gained significant share in August, at Windows 7’s expense, the latest figures, for September, show a reversal of fortune.

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Bigger isn't better when it comes to password security

password

A new study by LogMeIn, the company behind the LastPass password manager shows that size matters in password security, but not in the way that you might think.

Looking at anonymized data from over 43,000 companies, the study produced a security score and a password strength score for each. Businesses with fewer than 25 employees had the highest average security score of 50, but the average drops as company size increases.

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Sign up with The Lab and you could get a OnePlus 6T early

OnePlus 6T logo

If you're a fan of OnePlus handsets, you might like the idea of getting your hands on the OnePlus 6T not only free of charge, but before the official launch.

As part of its marketing program, OnePlus has opened up The Lab -- as it has done with previous models of its phones. This gives you the opportunity to sign up to review the phone, which means you'll be given one for free!

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NightOwl is a must-have app for all Mojave users

Dark mode is a fantastic addition to any operating system, enabling late-night work to more productive. We have the theme switched on as default on Windows 10, which has always suited a darker user-interface.

Apple introduced a system-wide dark mode with Mojave and some of the recent apps look hugely better on a dark background. iPhoto is a very good example, making photos pop on the dark shade and editing easier on the eyes.

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Major Google Maps update brings real-time public transport updates, music control, and more

Google Maps real-time public transport updates

Google is pushing out a big update to its Google Maps app with the aim of making your daily commute easier. One of the biggest additions is support for mixed-mode commutes -- those journeys that involve multiple modes of transport -- and to help with this, there's also real-time information about the location of buses and trains.

But it doesn't end there. Google Maps now also supports Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play Music podcast and music playback to help keep you entertained while you travel.

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