Google will now hide personal medical records from search results
Google has updated its search policies without any sort of fanfare. The search engine now "may remove" -- in addition to existing categories of information -- "confidential, personal medical records of private people" from search results.
That such information was not already obscured from search results may well come as something of a surprise to many people. The change -- first reported by Bloomberg -- has been confirmed by Google, although the company has not issued any form of announcement about it.
Microsoft Whiteboard app leaks -- download Windows 10's newest inking tool
Last month Microsoft gave us a glimpse of its upcoming Whiteboard app -- now the app has leaked online. This means that we have the opportunity to not only see what Microsoft has in store for inking in Windows 10, but we can also get hands on with it.
The tool is part of Microsoft's recent education focus, and it gives students and tutors the chance to collaborate on an interactive whiteboard. Features include automatic shape completion (draw a square freehand, and it will be converted into a geometric square), equation support, and angle calculation.
Facebook launches Online Civil Courage Initiative to fight extremism in the UK
Facebook today launches its latest attempt to tackle online extremism in the UK with its new Online Civil Courage Initiative (OCCI). It is part of an education drive which finds the social network trying to inform charities and local organizations how to fight hate speech and extremism online.
The OCCI is being launched with involvement from a number of partners, including the Jo Cox Foundation and Imams Online, and it has a UK focus. Facebook users are encouraged to head over to the OCCI pages to share ideas using the hashtag #civilcourage.
Facebook's new mission statement: 'give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together'
Mark Zuckerberg has announced a new mission statement for Facebook. The social network is no longer interested in making the world "more open and connected," now it wants to "give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together."
The change of direction will set Facebook's course for the next decade, and it was revealed at the Facebook Communities Summit. At the summit Facebook also revealed a new batch of tools for group admins to help drive the sense of community and make groups easier to manage.
Virgin Media warns Super Hub 2 owners to change their passwords due to hacking risk
Virgin Media is urging hundreds of thousands of customers with its Super Hub 2 router to change their passwords after a Which? investigation uncovered a way for hackers to gain access to the device.
If the password for the router is not changed from its default there is a risk from hacking, but Virgin Media said the risk is small. Nevertheless, as a precautionary measure a password change is the advice for more than 800,000 users.
eBay will now price match a number of online retailers
Part of the joy of shopping online is being able to easily compare prices at a number of retailers so you get the best price. If you prefer to get all of your goods from the same place, eBay has a new deal that you'll love -- price matching.
The offer covers items in the eBay Deals section, and price matching is carried out against Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Walmart.com, HomeDepot.com, Target.com, Sears.com, Wayfair.com and Jet.com. But if you want to take advantage of the offer, you'll have to take careful note of the terms and conditions.
Camera trickery: the OnePlus 5 does NOT offer lossless 2x optical zoom
Just one day after the launch of the long-awaited OnePlus 5, accusations of cheating in benchmarks started to creep out -- just as they did with the OnePlus 3T. Now another minor controversy has hit the brand new handset: it turns out that while it is strongly suggested that the OnePlus 5 has lossless 2x optical zoom, that is not actually the case.
OnePlus' marketing certainly pitched the dual camera as offering instant 2x zoom, and many people assumed that the arrangement was the same as with the dual camera iPhone 7 Plus which does offer 2x optical zoom. But the focal length of the OnePlus' two cameras is such that it needs a little digital help to boost the zoom to 2x -- and that raises the question of whether it is actually lossless.
Imagination Technologies is up for sale after being ditched by Apple
Back in April, Imagination Technologies revealed that it had been dropped by Apple and would therefore no longer be supplying GPU chips for use in iPhones, iPads and other products. Now, having lost 70 percent of its value, the UK company is putting itself up for sale.
Shares in Imagination fell dramatically after Apple ditched it, but news of the sale led to a jump of 21 percent. The company is valued at around £425 million ($538 million) and the announcement comes after several parties expressed interest in an acquisition of Imagination Technologies Group plc in its entirety.
Facebook uses India as a testing ground for profile picture protection features
It's a common belief that anything that appears online is fair game for downloading and sharing, and this idea extends to Facebook profile pictures. Facebook has found that in India in particular there is great concern from users -- particularly woman -- about uploading a profile picture in case it is download and shared elsewhere.
Responding to this, the social network is trialling features that will grant users more control over their profile pictures. Facebook is not only introducing a new profile picture guard, but also encouraging people to add a design layer to their images to discourage misuse by others. If the trial proves successful, the feature will enjoy a wider rollout.
Subpoenas mean owners of TVAddons and ZemTV Kodi add-on could be revealed
In recent weeks numerous Kodi add-ons have disappeared, and the popular site TVAddons also suffered the same fate. It had been presumed that the disappearances were related to a lawsuit taken out by Dish Network, and now the broadcaster has been granted subpoenas to help identify those developing the ZemTV Kodi addon and running the TVAddons website.
The subpoenas relate to a number of online services including Facebook and Twitter, and successfully identifying defendants will be key to the success with any lawsuits relating to copyright infringement.
OnePlus 5 cheats in benchmarks for a performance boost
At the start of the year it was discovered that the OnePlus 3T was cheating in benchmarks, artificially boosting performance when testing tools were detected. The OnePlus 5 was only officially launched yesterday but the same accusation is already being leveled at the latest version of the flagship killer.
As with the OnePlus 3T, the benchmark trickery of the OnePlus 5 was discovered in tests carried out by XDA Developers. The site says that its review unit "manipulates benchmarks to maximize scores" and issues a stark warning in an article entitled: "Do NOT Trust OnePlus 5 Benchmarks in Reviews -- How our Review Unit is Grossly Cheating at Benchmarks."
The OnePlus 5 is now official -- Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 8GB RAM, and a price rise
Three years in the making, the OnePlus 5 -- the company's "most complete and competitive product yet" -- is now official. OnePlus says it's all down to the details, and the company has made endless minor adjustments, and over 100 prototypes to settle on a final design. The handset is just 7.25mm thick, and the overall layout of the phone is all but identical to the OnePlus 3 and 3T -- and yes, there is a headphone jack.
The phone is available in Midnight Black and Slate Gray and the specs are in line with the leaks and rumors we've heard over recent weeks. OnePlus is keen that we don’t focus entirely on specs, but with the inclusion of up to 8GB of RAM, they're hard to ignore -- and it's central to the "smooth experience" the phone offers.
Amazon Prime Wardrobe beta: money-saving clothes shopping with free returns
Not content with splashing some cash on Whole Foods, Amazon is also spreading out into other new ventures. The latest is Prime Wardrobe, a new clothes shopping service for Prime subscribers that's currently in beta and offers the chance to "try before you buy."
The service ties in with Amazon Fashion, and it covers more than a million items of clothing. Users can select three or more items to have shipped out to them completely free of charge, and payment is only required for anything that's kept. Returns are free, and Amazon gives shoppers a full week to try out clothes.
BBC iPlayer now requires you to sign in for your catch-up TV fix
Last month, the BBC announced plans to force iPlayer users to sign into their account in order to watch the catch-up service. The requirement is now rolling out, and this means that the option to skip sign-in is starting to vanish.
Visitors to the site are now greeted by a message that reads: "You now need to sign in to watch. It's quick & easy. And we'll keep you signed in." Without following the instruction to sign in -- which gives the BBC the opportunity to check for a valid TV license -- it is not possible to watch any programming.
ProtonVPN is a free VPN service that's now available to everyone
ProtonMail has opened up its free VPN service to anyone who wants to use it. ProtonVPN was previously only available to a limited number of beta testers, but now everyone can secure their internet connection for free.
The company is best known for its encrypted email service, but the prospect of a free VPN tool will also be enticing to anyone who has concerns about privacy. It also provides a free way of bypassing internet restrictions that may be put in place by governments or ISPs.
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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