Nokia to splash out $191 million on health and wearables firm Withings
Nokia used to be a name associated with smartphones but now the Finnish company is looking to venture into a different area of the mobile device market. Today the company announced plans to acquire French health, fitness and wearables firm Withings for €170 million ($191 million).
Withings will join Nokia Technologies as the former smartphone manufacturer branches out into the Internet of Things and the lucrative health market. The acquisition will be settled in cash, and is expected to be completed by Q3 this year.
Twitter makes it easier to report abusive tweets en masse
There has been a lot of interest in online abuse in recent months, and social networks are taking steps to weed out the trolls and abusers. Twitter has already introduced a number of measures to help tackle trolls, and today announces the availability of a new reporting tool for users.
Now rather than having to report a number of abusive tweets individually, it is possible to report up to five tweets simultaneously. As well as reducing the workload for someone who feels the need to report content, the new tool also makes things easier for Twitter as it allows for additional information to be gathered.
US cyberbombs ISIS in renewed tech warfare
ISIS has been able to gain notoriety not only because of the atrocities committed, but through incredibly careful and calculated use of technology in general and the internet specifically. The likes of Twitter and Facebook have been embroiled in an on-going battle against terrorist social media accounts, and now the US military is taking the fight online as well.
Cyber Command is waging cyber war on Islamic State, trying to cyberbomb the terrorist organization into submission and prevent it from recruiting or spreading propaganda online. Using information gathered from the NSA, Cyber Command has turned its attention away from its usual targets such as Russia and China to focus instead on ISIS.
Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx wants YouTube to pay artists more royalties
YouTube is not paying artists enough in royalties for music videos, and Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx has had enough. He says that the Google-owned video site pays just a fraction of the likes of Apple and Spotify.
Sixx is calling on other musicians to join forces in a bid to make YouTube dig deeper into its pockets and pay artists a fair share. He is quick to point out that this is not just about getting more money for himself, insisting that he is also looking out for "the little guy -- the up and comers that we were at one point".
A regsvr32 hack is all it takes to bypass Windows' AppLocker security
A security researcher has discovered a way to get around Windows' AppLocker security system. Casey Smith found that it was possible to use Regsvr32 to call up a remotely hosted file that could be used to run any application -- malicious or otherwise -- of your choice.
This is something that will be a concern to companies, many of whom rely on AppLocker as it restricts what users are able to run on their computers. What is particularly concerning is the fact that the exploit does not require administrator privileges, and doesn't make any changes to the registry which makes it difficult to detect.
Windows 10 Anniversary Update is shaping up to be something really special
Windows 10 has been the subject of a lot of criticism since it launched, including quite a lot from me. But at the same time, Microsoft reports that the latest version of its operating system is installed on a staggering quarter of a billion devices. The company must be doing something right. Where Windows 10 succeeds -- particularly for Windows Insiders -- is that it is constantly evolving.
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14328 is the latest build out of the door and it shows great signs of improvement. It might be a little early to call it, but if this massive update is anything to go by, the summer release of Windows 10 Anniversary Edition (or Windows 10 Anniversary Update) could be the real turning point for Windows 10 when it manages to win over the doubters and jump to justified -- rather than forced -- dominance. Build 14328 is a big update, and there's a lot to love.
Microsoft reveals all about Windows 10's Linux subsystem
The arrival of Bash in Windows 10 took many people by surprise, but it opens up a number of opportunities including the ability to run GUI Linux apps. But it's about much more than just that. Microsoft wants people who are confused about the arrival of (deep breath...) Bash on Ubuntu on Windows to know of the potential, and has produced an explainer about the Windows Subsystem for Linux.
Microsoft's Deepu Thomas says that the subsystem was created by the Microsoft Windows Kernel team, and goes on to explain that this is much more than an interpretation layer or virtual machine. In fact, the Windows Subsystem for Linux was born from work carried out years ago for the NT kernel that was meant to bring POSIX and OS/2 support.
Hacker finds Facebook backdoor leaking usernames and passwords
The use of bounty programs to track down security vulnerabilities in websites and software is increasingly common these days, and it's a tactic employed by Facebook. One bounty hunter -- or penetration tester -- hacked his (or her… they are anonymous) way into the social network and made the shocking discovery that someone had already installed a backdoor.
Orange Tsai managed to compromise a Linux-based staff server and found there was already a piece of malware in place syphoning off usernames and passwords. These account details were being transmitted to a remote computer, and after revealing this to Facebook, Tsia pocketed $10,000 as a reward.
US Justice Department accesses another iPhone without Apple’s help
When it came to the San Bernardino iPhone, Apple was ready to dig in its heels and refuse to help the FBI to gain access to the encrypted contents. As it turns out, the company needn’t have bothered shouting as a third party helped instead. Now the same thing has happened with another iPhone.
This time around, the Justice Department had been looking for help accessing an iPhone at the center of a drugs case in New York. But now federal prosecutors have said they no longer need Apple’s help as they have managed to get by the lockscreen.
Apple tells developers watchOS apps must work without an iPhone
Apple has announced to developers that, starting June 1, all watchOS apps submitted for inclusion in the App Store must be native apps based on watchOS 2 SDK. What this means in practice is that Apple Watch apps must function without an iPhone.
This is something that has plagued wearables from other manufacturers -- including Samsung -- and the new rules will almost certainly go down well with consumers. Ultimately this should lead to an improvement in the quality of Apple Watch apps, as developers will be forced to build in more functionality.
Woz: Apple should pay half its income in tax
The tax arrangements of international technology companies have been in the spotlight for a little while now. Few people disagree with the idea that they should be paying their way when it comes to tax, and one of these people is Steve Wozniak. He thinks Apple should pay tax at a rate of 50 percent -- just like him.
Just like Amazon, Facebook and Google, Apple manages to avoid a great deal of tax by channeling money through a subsidiary located in the Republic of Ireland. This reduces its tax bill dramatically by avoiding the UK corporation tax of 20 percent, and instead paying the Irish rate of 12.5 percent. Apple co-founder Woz feels the company should be paying the same rate that he has to.
Facebook to filter out News Feed crap by timing how long you read articles
Facebook has been going a little crazy with News Feed updates of late, making constant changes in a bid to ensure that people see content they actually want to read. The real motivation may be ad revenue, but it's always pushed as surfacing (ouch... sorry... I slipped into buzzword mode...) more relevant content. The new changes are no different.
The most recent update to the feed algorithm will take into account not only which news articles people click on, but how long they spend reading them. This will help Facebook to not only determine what sort of article interest users but also help the social network to identify clickbait that doesn't deliver what it promises.
Dotcom: If you're still using Mega, back up your cloud-based files right now
It seems that Mega -- the enfant terrible of the cloud storage world -- could be on the brink of closure. Founder of Mega (formerly known as Mega Upload), Kim Dotcom took to Twitter to warn people to back up their files ASAP.
Not for the first time, Mega is out of the control of Dotcom, and is currently in the hands of what he refers to as "the fifth most wanted criminal in China". For many people the idea of their cloud storage being in criminal hands would be concerning enough, but Dotcom says that Bill Liu wants to float the company in Hong Kong.
It cost HOW MUCH to crack the San Bernardino iPhone?!
There are a lot of questions still to be answered about the San Bernardino iPhone that saw the FBI and Apple go head to head. After something of a battle, the FBI found someone to crack the iPhone. But who exactly did it? How did they do it? Will Apple be told how to do it in private? But one question that has also been lurking in the background is just how much it cost to hack into a single iPhone.
Now we know the answer. Not precisely, but we have a pretty good idea. Perhaps unsurprisingly, cracking the iPhone at the center of one of the most interesting technology cases in recent history, was not cheap. In a somewhat roundabout way, FBI Director James Comey revealed that the cost was more than $1.34 million.
With security and privacy in mind, will more browsers follow Opera's lead and offer free VPN?
The modern internet user is somewhat paradoxical -- looking to be more connected and contactable than ever before, whilst simultaneously seeking privacy. Can the two ideas live side by side? It's a tricky balancing act, but many people turn to VPN tools to increase their security and privacy online.
Opera is the first web browser to bundle a free VPN tool as standard (with unlimited VPN data, no less), and it's hard to imagine that the competition won’t follow suit. Nothing has yet been announced, but the appearance of versions of Chrome or Firefox with integrated VPN would hardly be a surprise -- or would it? And how would you feel about a VPN tool supplied by Google?
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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