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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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Private Messenger ‘Signal’ Adds Encrypted Group Video Calls

Andrew Orr ·

Good news for users of Signal. The app now supports group video calls, and they are end-to-end encrypted like the rest of the app’s communications.

Now when you open a group chat in Signal, you’ll see a video call button at the top. When you start a call, the group will receive a notification letting them know a call has started.

When you start or join a group call, Signal will display the participants in a grid view. You can also swipe up to switch to a view that automatically focuses the screen on who is speaking, and it will update in real time as the active speaker changes.

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VSCO Shares its 2020 Year in Review With Top Trends

Andrew Orr ·

VSCO has shared its 2020 Year in Review, exploring the top trends it saw throughout the year like popular hashtags and photo presets. For example, the top third preset of 2020 was B1, aka B&W Classic. That’s my favorite VSCO preset for black and white photography and I have a feeling I was partially responsible for pushing it to the top.

Without the pressure of public likes and comments on VSCO, we saw our community share their most raw and true moments, and how creativity helped them to get through this year’s ups and downs.

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Jetstream Routers Get Firmware Update to Fix Backdoor

Andrew Orr ·

In November, security researchers found a Walmart-branded router called Jetstream contained a way for a third party to remotely control the router and devices connected to it. Walmart responded and said it stopped selling these routers. The manufacturer, Wavlink, also responded. A firmware update includes the following:

Removed unnecessary diagnostic pages; Deleted tcpdump tool; Added codes to block CSRF attack; Improved Web authentication routine.

The researchers haven’t yet tested the update to see if it has been effective.

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Siri on iOS 14.3 Can Mimic Sounds Like Animals

Andrew Orr ·

When you download iOS 14.3 released on Monday, ask Siri if she can quack like a duck. CNBC says she will play a short audio clip of a quacking duck. However, when I asked her she played me an album from Apple Music called “Quack Like a Duck.” But I don’t think I worded it correctly. Ask “What does <blank> sound like?”

If you ask “what does the fox say?”, Siri may simply quote the song that became a YouTube hit in 2013. But asking “what does a fox sound like” brings up an actual call from an arctic fox, which sounds like someone whooping.

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Russian ‘Cozy Bear’ Hacking Team Hits US Government Networks

Andrew Orr ·

A group of Russian hackers known as Cozy Bear has hacked several U.S. government agencies like the Treasury and Commerce departments.

On Sunday night, FireEye said the attackers were infecting targets using Orion, a widely used business software app from SolarWinds. After taking control of the Orion update mechanism, the attackers were using it to install a backdoor that FireEye researchers are calling Sunburst.

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Apple Will Ban ‘X-Mode’ Data Broker From its Platforms

Andrew Orr ·

A report from The Wall Street Journal reveals that Apple and Google are banning a data broker called X-Mode from collecting location data from their platforms. (Non-paywalled version here). This is due to X-Mode links to selling data to government contractors involved in national security as Vice reported.

Both Apple and Google disclosed their decision to ban X-Mode to investigators working for Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.), who has been conducting an investigation into the sale of location data to government entities.

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How to Safely See Your Top 9 Instagram Photos of 2020

Andrew Orr ·

Your Top 9 Instagram posts of each year is a trend that has been going on for several years now. You probably don’t want to give websites access to your Instagram account just to see these photos. Or, maybe you don’t care. In any case, CNN has a short guide to safely do it with apps called Top Nine and Best Nine.

When you give your email to Top Nine, the service uses it to send you your yearly roundup, but may also contact you in the future for marketing, the company’s privacy policy says. The emails may come from Top Nine and its affiliate companies, but each one will contain instructions on how to “opt-out” of these messages.

If it doesn’t automatically use your email from Instagram, you could try a disposable email service like TempMail.

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iPhone 12 Mini Sales May Be Less Than Other New iPhones

Andrew Orr ·

Numbers from Wave7 Research suggest that of the new iPhone 12 models, sales of the iPhone 12 mini only account for 4%-5% of sales from the major carriers.

Wave7 interviews sales reps at carrier stores to get a picture of sales. The 12 mini had the “softest demand,” and some people chose the iPhone 12 Pro Max because of its camera, according to the report […] Spending $100 more for the iPhone Pro 12 fetches a 24% larger screen and a better battery life than the iPhone 12 mini.

I was impressed with the iPhone 12 mini because even though it’s the most affordable of the lineup, it still has many of the same features like an OLED display. I don’t know about the iPhone 12 but I thought I saw news in the past couple of months saying that the iPhone 12 Pro was the most popular.

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Spotify Resets User Passwords Over Data Leak

Andrew Orr ·

Spotify has reset an unknown number of user passwords after a bug in its system exposed private data to business partners.

In a data breach notification filed with the California attorney general’s office, the music streaming giant said the data exposed “may have included email address, your preferred display name, password, gender, and date of birth only to certain business partners of Spotify.” The company did not name the business partners, but added that Spotify “did not make this information publicly accessible.”

Fortunately, those like me who created a Spotify account using Sign In with Apple shouldn’t have too much information leaked.

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EyeQue Unveils its VisionCheck 2 Smartphone Vision Test

Andrew Orr ·

EyeQue has a smartphone vision test you can do at home, and the company has a Kickstarter to fund the second-gen product called VisionCheck 2.

Some claim to have online or app-based refraction tests, but they are merely prescription verification services based on visual acuity estimates. EyeQue users are actually performing a self-refraction test while proprietary algorithms process, personalize, and store results.

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Jailbreak Store ‘Cydia’ Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple

Andrew Orr ·

The creator of the old Cydia app store is suing Apple, claiming it used anti-competitive means to squash it.

“Were it not for Apple’s anticompetitive acquisition and maintenance of an illegal monopoly over iOS app distribution, users today would actually be able to choose how and where to locate and obtain iOS apps, and developers would be able to use the iOS app distributor of their choice,” the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Northern California and Cydia is represented by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan.

I don’t see where the anti-competitive part comes in. Cydia was before the App Store, so Apple created that to compete, not “anti-compete.”