Month: April 2019

Android TV update puts home-screen ads on multi-thousand-dollar Sony Smart TVs, you can’t get rid of them for long either

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google is trying out a new “Pilot Program” that puts a row of advertisements on the Android TV home screen. XDA Developers was the first to report on the new phenomenon, saying, “We’re currently seeing reports that it has shown up in Sony smart TVs, the Mi Box 3 from Xiaomi, NVIDIA Shield TV, and Read more about Android TV update puts home-screen ads on multi-thousand-dollar Sony Smart TVs, you can’t get rid of them for long either[…]

Marketplace Pulse study on Amazon products shows blistering sales figures in article, but titles it: Far from successful.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Juozas Kaziukenas’ article “Amazon-Owned Brands Far From Successful” is based on a report he set up called “Amazon Private Label Brands“. This report is oddly disjointed, crossing statistics in and out, changing his metrics at random and finally coming out with a conclusion which is totally at variance with the content of the article. It’s Read more about Marketplace Pulse study on Amazon products shows blistering sales figures in article, but titles it: Far from successful.[…]

Satellite plane-tracking goes global

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The US firm Aireon says its new satellite surveillance network is now fully live and being trialled over the North Atlantic. The system employs a constellation of 66 spacecraft, which monitor the situational messages pumped out by aircraft transponders. These report a plane’s position, altitude, direction and speed every eight seconds. The two big navigation Read more about Satellite plane-tracking goes global[…]

Dutch  medical patient files moved to Google Cloud – MPs want to know if US intelligence agencies can view them

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Of course the US can look in, under CLOUD rules, because Google is an American company. The move of the files has been done without consent from the patients by Medical Research Data Management, a commercial company, because (they say), the hospitals have given permission. Also, hospitals don’t need to ask for patient permission, because Read more about Dutch  medical patient files moved to Google Cloud – MPs want to know if US intelligence agencies can view them[…]

540 Million Facebook User Records Exposed Online, Plus Passwords, Comments, and More

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Researchers at the cybersecurity firm UpGuard on Wednesday said they had discovered the existence of two datasets together containing the personal data of hundreds of millions of Facebook users. Both were left publicly accessible. In a blog post, UpGuard connected one of the leaky databases to a Mexico-based media company called Cultura Colectiva. The data Read more about 540 Million Facebook User Records Exposed Online, Plus Passwords, Comments, and More[…]

A patchy Apache a-patchin: HTTP server gets fix for worrying root access hole

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apache HTTP Server has been given a patch to address a potentially serious elevation of privilege vulnerability. Designated CVE-2019-0211, the flaw allows a “worker” process to change its privileges when the host server resets itself, potentially allowing anyone with a local account to run commands with root clearance, essentially giving them complete control over the Read more about A patchy Apache a-patchin: HTTP server gets fix for worrying root access hole[…]

Linux Mint 19.2 ‘Tina’ is on the way, but the developers seem defeated and depressed

Posted on by Robin Edgar

I have been a bit critical of Linux Mint in the past, but the truth is, it is a great distribution that many people enjoy. While Mint is not my favorite desktop distro (that would be Fedora), I recognize its quality. Is it perfect? No, there is no such thing as a flawless Linux-based operating Read more about Linux Mint 19.2 ‘Tina’ is on the way, but the developers seem defeated and depressed[…]

Facebook Is Just Casually Asking Some New Users for Their Email Passwords [note – never give out your email password!!!!]

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook has been prompting some users registering for the first time to hand over the passwords to their email accounts, the Daily Beast reported on Tuesday—a practice that blares right past questionable and into “beyond sketchy” territory, security consultant Jake Williams told the Beast. A Twitter account using the handle @originalesushi first posted an image Read more about Facebook Is Just Casually Asking Some New Users for Their Email Passwords [note – never give out your email password!!!!][…]

DOJ Warns Academy Over Proposed Oscar Rule Changes that exclude Netflix and other streamers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Justice Department has warned the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that its potential rule changes limiting the eligibility of Netflix and other streaming services for the Oscars could raise antitrust concerns and violate competition law. According to a letter obtained by Variety, the chief of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, Makan Delrahim, wrote Read more about DOJ Warns Academy Over Proposed Oscar Rule Changes that exclude Netflix and other streamers[…]

India’s Anti-Satellite Test Could Threaten the International Space Station

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country’s space agency had tested a new anti-satellite weapon by destroying a satellite already in orbit. Now, an announcement by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine claims that India’s test could endanger other satellites and objects in orbit—including the International Space Station. India launched a missile at a Read more about India’s Anti-Satellite Test Could Threaten the International Space Station[…]

Former NSA spies hacked BBC host, Al Jazeera chairman for UAE

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A group of American hackers who once worked for U.S. intelligence agencies helped the United Arab Emirates spy on a BBC host, the chairman of Al Jazeera and other prominent Arab media figures during a tense 2017 confrontation pitting the UAE and its allies against the Gulf state of Qatar. The American operatives worked for Project Read more about Former NSA spies hacked BBC host, Al Jazeera chairman for UAE[…]

D.E.A. Secretly Collected Bulk Records of Money-Counter Purchases

Posted on by Robin Edgar

WASHINGTON — The Drug Enforcement Administration secretly collected data in bulk about Americans’ purchases of money-counting machines — and took steps to hide the effort from defendants and courts — before quietly shuttering the program in 2013 amid the uproar over the disclosures by the National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, an inspector general report Read more about D.E.A. Secretly Collected Bulk Records of Money-Counter Purchases[…]