Microsoft announces Skype Professional Account Preview
Microsoft has announced the upcoming release of a Skype Professional Account desktop client. Due to launch in the US as a preview very soon, this is a business-focused build of Skype that offers a host of extra features.
This includes the ability to book meeting, make notes and take payments, all from the comfort of a chat client. The aim is to reduce the number of tools and services anyone conducting a business online needs to use.
Android 8.1 Oreo will free up space by shrinking apps you don't use
We all have apps installed on our phones that we simply don't use. It might be that they once served a purpose that they no longer fulfil, and we just haven't got around to uninstalling, or it might be that we've downloaded an app, tried it once, and then forgotten about it.
These unused apps are, essentially, just wasting space, and now Google is doing something about it. With Android 8.1 Oreo, when a device is running low on space, an automatic cleanup process will tidy after these unused apps.
Google clamps down on apps that misuse accessibility API -- and it could affect your favorite apps
Google is launching a crackdown on apps that misuse Accessibility Services, threatening to remove them from the Play Store. The API was created specifically to help users with various disabilities, but developers have latched onto it as a way of increasing the functionality of their apps.
The likes of Tasker, LastPass and Universal Copy are among the titles that make use of the Accessibility Services API, and they have been warned to either explain why they are using the API, stop using the API, or unpublish their app.
Microsoft's Black Friday deals could save you a bundle on Surface and Xbox devices
It may be more than a week until Black Friday, but the big-name companies are already releasing details of the money-saving deals that will be available. Microsoft is one such company, and today it has revealed price cuts for Surface devices, the Xbox One S, Windows Mixed Reality headsets, and more.
As well as offering savings of $329 off the Surface Pro i5 256GB, Microsoft also shares information about savings available from its partners -- including up to $300 off Windows 10 laptops.
US government uses Texas shooter's iPhone to support its case for encryption backdoors
The inability of law enforcement agencies to access encrypted data stored on smartphones is a relatively new one, but it's one that really came into the spotlight with the San Bernardino shooting latest year. With the recent shooting in Texas, the US government is talking about the issue once again.
We've already learned that the FBI has been unable to access data stored on the shooter's phone due to the fact that it's encrypted. We also know that Apple has been in contact with the FBI to offer help -- despite having previously said there was no way it could access encrypted data. Now it seems that the US government, specifically Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, is using the case to add pressure to phone manufacturers to include backdoors.
iPhone X is unresponsive in the cold and has a green line screen problem
Just days after the launch of the iPhone X, problems are starting to emerge with Apple's latest handset. Users are reporting various issues with the screen including the fact that it becomes unresponsive in cold conditions.
On top of this, other iPhone X users have found that the screen suffers with a green line appearing at the side of the display. These reports are in addition to Apple's own warnings of the OLED-centric screen burn-in problems, and in spite of the fact that the iPhone X has been found to have the best display of any smartphone.
Leaked: Here is the OnePlus 5T
As is often the case -- whether planned or not -- details of upcoming handsets frequently leak out. Things are no different with OnePlus phones; in fact, it's one of the leakiest companies out there. With the launch of the OnePlus 5T in just a few days, it should come as little surprise that leaks mean we now know just about everything there is to know about the smartphone.
Not exactly a million miles removed from the OnePlus 5, the 5T's full specs have been leaked, complete with photographs and a detailed reviewers' guide. The major news is that the phone will be running Android 7.1.1 Nougat (nope, no sign of Oreo yet), and has very small bezels thanks to the disappearance of the front home button (it's now on the reverse).
Twitter pauses verification program after giving white supremacist the coveted blue tick
Head of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, has admitted that the company's verification system is "broken" after a blue tick was awarded to white supremacist Jason Kessler. There was a backlash this week after Kessler -- who helped to arrange the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville earlier in the year -- had his Twitter account verified.
Responding to the negative reaction this prompted, Twitter announced that its verification program has been paused. The company also said that the verification tick had been largely misinterpreted by people.
WikiLeaks: CIA source code leak shows agency impersonating Kaspersky
Following on from its Vault 7 series of leaks relating to CIA hacking tools, WikiLeaks has kicked off a new series -- Vault 8. The purpose of this latest series is to reveal the source code of previously exposed hacking and surveillance tools, and the first release relates to Hive.
The tool itself is interesting enough, serving as backbone to the CIA's malware operations, but there's more. What's intriguing about the first leak in the Vault 8 series is that it seems to show the agency impersonating Kaspersky, by making use of a fake certificate for the anti-virus company.
Facebook explains its creepy-sounding anti-revenge porn plan
Facebook has revealed more details about how its test program for combating revenge porn works. The social network has been trialing a system which allows users to upload naked images of themselves to Facebook so the company can look out for and block others from sharing them.
People were rather shocked at this idea, but even more so when it transpired that the uploaded nudes would be reviewed by Facebook employees. Keen to calm the storm that has whipped up around the issue, Facebook's global head of safety, Antigone Davis, has penned a blog post explaining that "we want to be clear about how it works."
Twitter more than doubles the length of user display names
Signing up for any service means facing the username battle. There are two obstacles: is your username still available, and does it meet the necessary requirements. With Twitter, getting an @YourName handle is tricky because there are simply so many users (and bots), but there has long been a highly restrictive limit on the length of names -- just 15 characters.
Twitter has long offered something of a compromise in allowing display names that are slightly longer -- but only up to 20 characters. Now, the company has announced that there are more than twice as many characters to play with. Display names can now be up to 50 characters in length -- usernames, unfortunately, remain unchanged.
Microsoft brings Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection to macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android
Microsoft has announced that it is teaming up with Bitdefender, Lookout, and Ziften to expand the reach of Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP). By partnering with the three major security firms, Microsoft is set to bring ATP to macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android devices.
Bitdefender, Lookout, and Ziften will all feed threat detection information into one central resource, and this can then be used by security teams to keep an eye on all threats in a single location.
Apple has already contacted the FBI with help to access the Texas shooter's phone
Following the shooting at the weekend in a Texan church, the FBI revealed that it was unable to access the encrypted phone belonging to the gunman, Devin Patrick Kelley. While the FBI said that it did not want to reveal any specific details of the phone, it was widely believed to be an iPhone -- and now Apple has revealed that it has already been in contact with the agency.
The iPhone-maker says that it got in touch with the FBI "immediately" to offer help in accessing the gunman's phone.
Apple expands its Everyone Can Code initiative around the world
Originally limited to just the US, Apple's "Everyone Can Code" initiative has now been opened up to over 20 universities and colleges around the world. The expansion takes the coding curriculum to Australia's RMIT, Plymouth University in the UK and many other establishments.
The aim is to give people the chance to learn how to code, using the App Development with Swift curriculum for online and on-campus courses. The year-long course serves as an introduction to coding, and is open to students of all levels of ability.
If you send nudes to Facebook for revenge porn protection, the photos will be checked by humans
Facebook caused more than a little eye-rolling with its anti-revenge porn program which requires users to upload the naked images of themselves that they would like to protect. It had been assumed that the entire process would be automated, making use purely of algorithms to analyze images and protect privacy. This assumption was wrong.
Facebook says that in actual fact an employee -- an actual human being -- will have to review the nude images that are sent in.
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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