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Andrew Orr

Since 2015 Andrew has been writing about Apple, privacy, security, and at one point even Android. You can find him most places online under the username @andrewornot.

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Articles by Andrew Orr

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Password Manager Dashlane Introduces ‘Essentials’ Plan for $4

Andrew Orr ·

On Wednesday, password manager Dashlane introduced an affordable subscription plan for US$3.99/month.

Following its relaunch in beta, Dashlane’s one-of-a-kind Password Changer will also be available within the Essentials plan. Password Changer seamlessly logs users into compatible websites, generates strong, unique passwords, then changes the passwords for those sites on the user’s behalf in one-click. Secure Notes, a Dashlane feature for storing sensitive, plain-text information like private keys to software or wifi passwords, rounds out the Essential plan’s offerings.

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Photo Ninja by DoNotPay Can Confuse Facial Recognition Algorithms

Andrew Orr ·

DoNotPay can perform a variety of tasks for you, like cancelling subscriptions, appealing parking tickets, and dealing with copyright protection. It has a new service called Photo Ninja that can help block facial recognition.

Photo Ninja uses a novel series of steganography, detection perturbation, visible overlay, and several other AI-based enhancement processes to shield your images from reverse image searches without compromising the look of your photo.

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Opera Browser Adds Support for Crypto NFT Addresses

Andrew Orr ·

Opera has partnered with blockchain domain name provider Unstoppable Domains to support decentralized .crypto NFT addresses.

Launched in 2018, Unstoppable Domains provides .crypto and other top-level domain names to users with no renewal fees. When users claim a domain, it is minted as an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain, granting the user full ownership and control. Along with accessing the decentralized web through Opera, .crypto domain names replace complex wallet addresses for payments across 40+ cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges.

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Cryptee Photos Adds Tagging for Better Organization

Andrew Orr ·

Cryptee is an online-only end-to-end encrypted storage platform, and recently added tagging to its Photos component.

First things first. All your tags and photos are encrypted and private. So we can’t see them. Now keep that in mind, and be prepared to be mind blown.

It’s 2021. We thought tagging should be as easy as typing out the tags in natural language. So we thought it would be amazing if you could tag your photos in Cryptee Photos the same way you tag your photos on Instagram or Twitter with hashtags.

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For DEAR Month, Libby Gets Updates for Smart Tags and More

Andrew Orr ·

Reading books is important and that’s why I like to share the latest news from OverDrive’s Libby app. Just in time for “Drop Everything and Read” month, Libby 9.0 gets smart tags, notification, and design updates.

With Libby 9.0, you’ll be able to get push or email notifications about new issues of your favorite magazines. You’ll also be able to sync your wish list from the OverDrive app to Libby, one of our most frequently requested features.

You’ll also see several improvements in the overall visual design that will improve searching and browsing for ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines.

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Spotify’s Podcast Subscriptions Leave 100% Fees for Creators

Andrew Orr ·

Next week, Spotify is launching a podcast subscription service for its creators and it will let them keep 100% of the revenue.

Spotify has said it was going to test paid subscriptions for podcasters to allow them to offer exclusive content to subscribers, officially announcing that during its February “Stream On” event. But it has not yet provided details on how that will work.

I’m sure Spotify will keep drumming the “no tax” part in contrast to Apple’s 30% fee from Apple Podcast Subscriptions. But in the end it doesn’t matter because the most important people win: The content creators.

Microsoft and Azul are Working on Java for M1 Macs
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Microsoft and Azul are Working on Java for M1 Macs

Andrew Orr ·

Microsoft and Azul Systems are working on M1 support for Java through OpenJDK. Azul’s website notes “Zulu OpenJDK runs on Linux, Windows, Solaris, and macOS on X86, Arm, SPARC, PowerPC, and MIPS.” Meanwhile, Microsoft has released an early access build of its macOS + AArch64 (M1) based on OpenJDK. The company is working with Azul on JEP 391 to upstream relevant patches to the OpenJDK project. Obviously, this is great news for those that need Java apps on their Mac because they won’t need to be run through Apple’s Rosetta 2 translator.

New Civilization VI Update Means Scouts Can Pet Their Dogs
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New Civilization VI Update Means Scouts Can Pet Their Dogs

Andrew Orr ·

Civilization VI received an update on Thursday but it brings an important new feature: Your scouts can now pet their dogs. Other updates include three new military units, four new maps, a new unit action, and various bug fixes and improvements. New units: Trebuchet – Medieval Era Catapult upgrade. Siege promotion class. Upgrades into Bombard. Cannot move and attack on the same turn unless they’ve earned the Expert Crew Promotion. Man-At-Arms: Medieval Era Swordsman upgrade. Melee promotion class. Upgrades into Musketman. Line Infantry: Industrial Era Musketman upgrade. Melee promotion class. Upgrades into Infantry. New maps: Mediterranean Large Map: A large map of the greater Mediterranean region with resources, terrain, and features reflecting their historic locations. Earth Huge Map: A larger sized representation of Earth with resources, terrain, and features reflecting their historic locations. TSL Earth Huge: Civilizations start at the location of their historical capital on the huge Earth map. TSL Mediterranean: Civilizations start the location of their historic capital on the large Mediterranean map.

This App Can Load Your Business Card into Apple Wallet
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This App Can Load Your Business Card into Apple Wallet

Andrew Orr ·

An app I discovered a while back called Social Card lets you put your business card into Apple Wallet. By that I mean the app helps you create a personalized card where you can add information like email, phone numbers, websites, and links to social media like LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and others. You can share you card with Airdrop, iMessage, email, or a QR code. You can create a card for free with limited options, and various in-app purchases gives you customization options to add a background, change the color, add a logo or your portrait, and more.

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Here’s How Signal Broke Into Cellebrite’s Hacking Device

Andrew Orr ·

Moxie Marlinspike of Signal wrote on Wednesday how he was able hack into a Cellebrite device. These devices are used by entities like law enforcement to brute force their way into devices like iPhones.

Given the number of opportunities present, we found that it’s possible to execute arbitrary code on a Cellebrite machine simply by including a specially formatted but otherwise innocuous file in any app on a device that is subsequently plugged into Cellebrite and scanned. There are virtually no limits on the code that can be executed.

A fascinating write-up. One can only imagine the thrill of taking a walk, seeing a package fall out of a truck, and finding out that it’s a Cellebrite device.