Kaspersky sues Trump administration over government software ban
US concerns about links between Kaspersky Labs and the Russian government led to a ban on the security software being used on US government computers. The ban was only recently signed into law by Donald Trump, and now Kaspersky has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security in response.
Kaspersky Labs is asking a federal court to overturn Trump's ban. The Moscow-based company maintains that it does not have links to the Kremlin, and has published an open letter saying that it had not been afforded "adequate due process" and that the US government's decision was based on flawed information.
Google Assistant gains 'Hey, Google' support on a range of Android devices
Voice control of computers and smartphones is becoming increasingly common, and for Android users a new option is opening up. Previously only available on Nexus and Pixel devices, support for the "Hey, Google" trigger is rolling out to more handsets.
This gives Android users another option for calling up Google's voice-activated assistant, adding to the existing "OK, Google" command.
Windows 10 included a password manager complete with massive password-stealing potential
Microsoft has been bundling a password manager that features a dangerous flaw with some versions of Windows 10, a Google security researcher has revealed. Tavis Ormandy noticed that his copy of Windows 10 included Keeper, which he had previously found to be injecting privileged UI into pages.
The version that Microsoft was including with Windows 10 featured the same bug. What does this mean? In short, it allows any website to steal passwords from you.
Patreon scraps plans to introduce new charges, and apologizes to users
Artists' and creators' platform Patreon has scrapped controversial plans to introduce a new pricing structure after a vocal backlash from users.
The site -- used by many artists and creators to raise money -- had planned to add a service charge to pledges placed by patrons. While the new pricing structure would have reduced fees paid by artists, there was a fear that fewer pledges would be made due to fees having to be shouldered by those pledging money. CEO Jack Conte has now apologized and says that the company will work on a better system that does not unfairly impact upon smaller payments.
Facebook adds Snooze button to silence irritating friends, pages and groups
If you're friends with someone on Facebook it should mean that you're interested in hearing about what they have to say and see what they have to share. But at the same time, it's likely you've been extremely annoyed by the incessant stream of babble that flows from some people.
You might not want to go quite as far as unfriending someone -- maybe you're just sick of them posting movie spoilers, or you're tired of hearing them go on about their team's latest success -- so Facebook has introduced a new Snooze option. This can be used to hide a particular person's posts for a month.
TVAddons: Streaming through Kodi addons protects you from malware and cryptocurrency miners
Kodi has been the subject of controversy for some time, and addon repository TVAddons has, in particular, been criticized from many quarters. Having recently announced that it will no longer proactively check for pirated content, TVAddons is suggesting that there's a very good reason to use Kodi addons to stream online content -- security.
The site says that one of the reasons Kodi is so hated by the industry is that addons give users the chance to avoid advertisements and "all forms of monetization." TVAddons says that Kodi addons not only enable people to avoid ads, but also potentially dangerous malware and secretive cryptocurrency miners.
Your HP laptop may be harboring a secret keylogger in Synaptics touchpad drivers
If you have an HP laptop, there's a reasonable chance that you have an keylogger installed. The tool is embedded in Synaptics touchpad drivers.
Before you start panicking too much, it's worth noting that the keylogging capabilities of the tool are disabled by default, but that's not to say there's no cause for alarm. This may all sound slightly familiar; back in May, HP hit the headlines for a keylogger that was buried in an audio driver. If you want to check if you are affected by the latest privacy violation -- and what you can do about it -- read on...
Trump signs bill banning Kaspersky software
The distrust -- at least publicly -- that the US shows for Russia is well-known. Following concerns about potential espionage from the Kremlin, the government has banned the use of Kaspersky software on its systems.
This ban has now been cemented into law as President Trump signed a bill forbidding the use of Kaspersky Lab software on government computers.
Warning: if you remove the Apple Pay Cash app, it's not obvious how to get it back
The Apple Pay Cash 'app' is built in to iOS, so you might well expect that it would be locked in place, completely un-uninstallable. But that's not the case. In fact, you can remove -- or at least hide -- the app, but you will run into problems if you ever change your mind and decide you want it back.
If you are running iOS 11.2 -- which introduced Apple Pay Cash -- you can easily uninstall the app if you feel you don't want it. But there is no obvious way to get it back, meaning that while you can still use Siri to make payments, you won't be able to do so in iMessage. This is something that may well be fixed in iOS 11.3, but in the meantime there are a couple of work arounds.
Twitter introduces new 'threads' feature for easier tweetstorms
It's just over a month since Twitter doubled the maximum possible length of tweets to 280 characters -- but this was not enough for many people. However, rather than further increasing the length of tweets, the site has instead introduced another feature users have been begging for -- threading.
The threading of tweets -- linking together multiple related tweets so people can follow a longer piece of writing -- has been tried by users in a couple of ways (numbering tweets or self-replying, for example) for some time now. But the new feature is the first time there has been official support, and the implementation should go down well with users.
Chrome 63 is more secure than ever -- and uses even more memory
Google's Chrome browser has something of a reputation for being memory-hungry. With the release of Chrome 63 this image is not going to be shed -- a new security feature increases memory usage even further.
The latest desktop version of the browser includes a new Site Isolation feature which launches individual sites -- all sites, or a specific list -- in sperate processes. While this is something that will be of particular interest to enterprise users because of the added security it brings, it's something that will appeal to any security-minded user who is willing to shoulder a 10-20 percent increase in Chrome's memory usage.
Huge Janus bug leaves Android apps open to unauthorized code modification
Researchers from security firm GuardSquare have discovered an Android vulnerability that allows for app code to be edited without affecting the apps' signature. Dubbed Janus, the vulnerability has massive potential for malicious use, and affects Android 5.0 onwards.
The security hole would allow an attacker to tweak an entirely legitimate app to behave maliciously without triggering any security alerts. Although vulnerability CVE-2017-13156 has been patched in December's Android update, very few people will have access to this security fix.
Kodi addon site TVAddons to stop proactively checking for piracy
Justified or not, Kodi has been somewhat synonymous with pirated content. At the heart of Kodi-related controversy are the addons that provide access to such material, and addon site TVAddons constantly finds itself embroiled in things.
Having recently announced that it managed to build up 12 million monthly users despite being closed down, TVAddons has now announced a change to the way it operates. While still perfectly happy to comply with the law when it comes to pirated content, the site will now rely on DMCA takedown notices rather than proactively checking for infringments.
Amazon Prime Video comes to Apple TV, and the US gains live sports
Apple TV users in more than 100 countries now have access to Amazon Prime Video. The arrival of the streaming service means that anyone with an Apple TV 4K or an older model can enjoy a plethora of movies and Prime Original series.
On top of this, in the US, the Apple TV app brings live sports to iPhone, iPad and Apple TV users. There are already a number of supported sports apps within the Apple TV app, including those from ESPN and the NBA, and more will be added.
Disqus has been acquired by marketing firm Zeta Global
Interacting with BetaNews -- and countless other websites -- means making use of the Disqus commenting system. Today the firm has been acquired by "marketing technology company" Zeta Global.
Disqus says that "we still are and will remain the same Disqus that you know and use," but there will be concerns from users that the company is being taken over by one with a vested interested in marketing and, therefore, user data.
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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