No more Microsoft Security Bulletins after January 2017
Microsoft has a long tradition of publishing Security Bulletins to share information about patches and security fixes that it releases. But starting next year this is going to change.
As of February 2017, Microsoft will make use of the newly launched Security Updates Guide database. This, on the face of it, sounds like a great idea -- a searchable database of information -- but it changes the way information is presented and is unlikely to be well-received by users.
Google flatly denies claims that Android has hurt competition -- quite the reverse
Google's battle with the European Commission has raged on for many years, and the company has faced frequent accusations of anti-competitive behavior for one reason or another. Today the Android producer has hit back at the European claims, saying that the existence of iOS is proof that its own mobile operating system is not anti-competitive.
Senior vice president of Google, Kent Walker, writes on the company blog that "Android is not a 'one way street'; it's a multi-lane highway of choice". He also points to the fact that the cost of smartphones running Android has dropped dramatically over the years, but one of his primary arguments against the anti-competitive claims is that phone manufacturers are free to use Android in whatever way they want.
Google's new Safe Browsing site is home to malicious site reporting, transparency reports, and policies
Google today launches a revamped version of its Safe Browsing site, bringing a number of tools and services under one roof. The tag line for the site is "Making the world's information safely accessible," and Google makes much of fact that it now keeps more than two billion devices safe online -- desktop and Android, as well as devices running Google tools such as Chrome and Gmail.
One of the main purposes of the site is to make it easier for people to report malicious sites they encounter, so other internet users can be warned and protected. But the updated site is also home to additional information from Google, such as its Transparency Reports and company policies.
Facebook Messenger is now able to pump ads into your eyeballs
Facebook, like Google, is all about the ads. Not content with filling newsfeeds with advertising, Facebook Messenger -- already something of a privacy nightmare -- is about to become home to 'sponsored messages'. Ads by another name.
The new ad formats follow on from newsfeed data designed to direct Facebook users to Messenger, and from there the idea is to drive brand awareness and increase sales. But as with other advertising on Facebook, ads are targeted, meaning there is more than a slight degree of concern when it comes to privacy.
Google is closing down Map Maker
Google has announced that Map Maker -- the tool which can be used to make and suggest changes to Google Maps -- is to close down.
The closure is scheduled for March 2017, and Google says that the editing features will be gradually integrated into Google Maps itself as part of a streamlining process. It's not clear just how long it will take for all of the editing features to roll out to Google Maps, but some features will be missing for a while, if not permanently.
Samsung uses full-page newspaper ads to say it is 'truly sorry' for the Note7 fiasco
Just when you thought the Samsung Galaxy Note7 saga was over, there's a new twist. The Korean smartphone manufacturer placed a full-page ad in US newspapers yesterday, apologizing to customers for the problematic handset.
The ad appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and the Washington Post and the company says it is "truly sorry" for failing to deliver "best-in-class safety and quality".
Facebook forced to stop using WhatsApp data to deliver targeted ads to users
Threatened with legal action if it failed to do so, Facebook has agreed to stop harvesting data from WhatsApp users and using that data to deliver targeted ads. The move comes weeks after the UK's Information Commissioner announced an investigation into the actions of the social network.
Facebook had already been blocked from doing this in Germany, and now the same restrictions are in place in the UK. With so much public interest in privacy, it is likely that other countries will follow suit in clamping down on Facebook's data collecting activities.
Android Auto can now be used on your phone in any car, regardless of age
It's quite some time since Google launched Android Auto -- around two years, in fact -- but adoption has been hampered by one little niggle: you needed a compatible car to take advantage of it. Today that changes.
Starting today, Android Auto is available as a stand-alone phone app that can be used to bring the tool to any car via an Android device. This means that older vehicles can now feel the benefits of Android Auto and use it to get directions, listen to music, and much more.
Online retailers warned about price-fixing ahead of Black Friday
Black Friday is just around the corner, and while shoppers may be looking forward to making big savings the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued a warning to online retailers about price-fixing.
The consumer body has not revealed which retailers it has written to, but it says that "a number of online companies" have received letters. It's part of a campaign to make it clear to companies selling online that "discussing and agreeing price levels with competitors is illegal, and can result in serious penalties".
How to block Windows 10 popups for Microsoft Edge and Bing Rewards
Just the other day users started to notice that Microsoft was using Windows 10 to push ads for its Edge browser. Already riled by ads for Windows 10 itself and the appearance of app ads in the Start menu, people were soon asking how to stop the unwanted popups.
One suggestion that started doing the round was that simply unpinning Microsoft Edge from the taskbar does the job -- but it doesn’t seem to work for everyone. Here are a few more things you can do to prevent the appearance of Microsoft's ads.
FBI says Clinton emails show no signs of wrong-doing, but Trump has his doubts
Just over a week after the FBI announced it was re-opening the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails, bureau director James Comey has announced that the previous investigatory conclusion of no wrong-doing remains.
Looking at a new batch of emails that were discovered during a separate investigation has "not changed our conclusion", he said. But while the Clinton camp welcomed the news, Donald Trump was more suspicious. "You can’t review 650,000 emails in eight days," he said.
Tesco Bank suspends online banking following fraudulent activity
Tesco Bank has taken the extraordinary measure of temporarily halting online transactions after thousands of customers experienced criminal activity in their accounts over the weekend. The move also means that customers are unable to use contactless payments.
Customers were alerted over the weekend via text message after suspicious activity was noticed in numerous accounts. Some have found that hundreds of pounds have gone missing from their accounts, but it is not clear whether the problem stems from a direct hack of Tesco Bank, or if a retailer suffered a security breach.
SEO alert: Google search to rank sites according to their mobile versions
Having recently said that it will show different search results to mobile and desktop users, Google now has another search related announcement. Reacting to the fact that most searches are conducted from mobile devices, search results will be ranked according to sites' mobile content.
Google says that it has "begun experiments to make [its] index mobile-first", and it's a move that essentially says that mobile searchers are more important than the rest. In light of the recent splitting of mobile and desktop indexing, the announcement is hardly a bolt out of the blue, but it's still something that many site owners will need to take action about.
Samsung forcing out software update to render Galaxy Note7 batteries rubbish
Samsung's Galaxy Note7 fiasco has been in headline for some weeks now, most recently when it emerged that the company was working with telecoms companies to cut off the phones from networks in New Zealand. Now Samsung has announced that it is pushing out an update to US users that will limit how much the battery can be charged.
This is not so much a case of limiting the charge to make the phone safer, rather an attempt to annoy Galaxy Note7 owners who have not yet taken advantage of the 'refund and exchange' program to do just that. The hope is that by limiting phone charge to 60 percent, and showing a popup, stubborn Galaxy Note7 owners will give in and relinquish their handsets.
Hacker discovers Gmail vulnerability that leaves any account open to compromise
A student and security researcher from Pakistan has found a serious issue with Gmail that makes it possible for a hacker to take over any email address.
The vulnerability relates to the way Google handles the linking of a primary Gmail account to another email address for the purposes of message forwarding. In just a few steps it was -- before Google fixed the problem -- possible to take over ownership of an email address by tricking the system into sending out the necessary verification code.
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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