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Geico Data Breach Exposed Driver’s Licenses in Early 2021

Andrew Orr ·

Geico revealed a data breach that occurred on its systems and hackers accessed driver’s licenses.

The insurance giant did not say how many customers were affected by the breach but said the fraudsters accessed customer driver’s license numbers between January 21 and March 1. Companies are required to alert the state’s attorney general’s office when more than 500 state residents are affected by a security incident.

Geico said it had “reason to believe that this information could be used to fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits in your name.”

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Spotify, Match, Tile Exec to Appear as Witnesses at Apple, Google Antitrust Hearing

Charlotte Henry ·

Executives from Spotify, Match, and Tile will appear as witnesses at Wednesday’s Senate antitrust hearing into Apple and Google, Bloomberg News reported. All the firms have clashed with Apple in the past.

Google Senior Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy Wilson White will be the search giant’s representative, joining Apple Chief Compliance Officer Kyle Andeer in the spotlight. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights, which is holding the hearing, also plans to call Horacio Gutierrez, Kirsten Daru, and Jared Sine, top legal executives from Spotify, Tile and Match Group, respectively. Mark Cooper, director of research for the Consumer Federation of America, will also be called. Spotify, Tile and Match have all been embroiled in antitrust fights with Apple recently, with Spotify and Match filing complaints about Apple’s App Store rules and fees. Tile believes Apple’s Find My app will give the company’s rumored AirTags accessory for finding physical objects a leg up over third-party rivals.

TMO Deals

Magnetic Phone Holder: $24.99

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal for you today on a magnetic iPhone holder. This device is ergonomically-designed with a bracket that easily extends after being attached to a laptop, computer monitor, or vertical flat surface. It also has a reserved charging port so that you can power up your phone. It’s $24.99 through our deal.

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Malvertising Campaign ‘Tag Barnakle’ Infected 120 Ad Servers

Andrew Orr ·

First discovered a year ago, malvertising campaign Tag Barnakle has infected over 120 ad servers to insert malicious code into ads.

Stein says that while last year Tag Barnakle had targeted users of desktop browsers with redirects to malware download sites, over the past year, the gang has switched to going after mobile users and redirecting them to online scams peddling various scammy products.

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Memo Reveals How Lawmakers Want to Reform Section 230

Andrew Orr ·

A new proposal from lawmakers reveals how Congress wants to take steps to reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

A new proposal by Republican lawmakers to overhaul a critical law that protects online platforms already looks dead in the water, according to one legal expert, though another prominent legal scholar believes it could fuel bipartisan reform for tech regulation.

The Republican members’ proposal submitted Thursday calls for, among other things, modifying 230 to strip liability protection for Big Tech if their content moderation practices discriminate against political affiliations or viewpoints, a frequent conservative talking point.

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'Greyhound' and 'Servant' Win at Motion Picture Sound Editors Award Winners

Charlotte Henry ·

Greyhound and Servant were both victorious at Friday night’s Motion Picture Sound Editors Awards. As The Hollywood Reporter’s break down highlights, in some cases, they actually beat other Apple TV+ content. No doubt the company will be pleased to be competing in technical, as well as creative, categories.

Greyhound and Soul, along with Mank, News of the World, and Sound of Metal are nominated for the Oscar for sound–a new category combining what was previously two separate categories for sound editing and sound mixing. All five movies are also nominated for Cinema Audio Society Awards for sound mixing, which will be handed out during a virtual ceremony on Saturday.

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PlayStation Store to Remain on PS3 and PS Vita

Charlotte Henry ·

The PlayStation Store will remain available for PS3 and PS Vita users. President & CEO, Sony Interactive Entertainment, announced the change of course on Monday.

Today I’m happy to say that we will be keeping the PlayStation Store operational for PS3 and PS Vita devices. PSP commerce functionality will retire on July 2, 2021 as planned. When we initially came to the decision to end purchasing support for PS3 and PS Vita, it was born out of a number of factors, including commerce support challenges for older devices and the ability for us to focus more of our resources on newer devices where a majority of our gamers are playing on. We see now that many of you are incredibly passionate about being able to continue purchasing classic games on PS3 and PS Vita for the foreseeable future, so I’m glad we were able to find a solution to continue operations.

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Adobe Co-Founder and PDF Developer Charles Geschke Dies Aged 81

Charlotte Henry ·

Charles Geschke (pictured above), who co-founded Adobe and helped develop the PDF, passed away aged 81 on Friday. He helped found the software firm in 1982 and a decade later was kidnapped at gunpoint, eventually being released unhurt after four days. BBC News reported on the tribute paid to Mr. Geschke by the current CEO of the company he created.

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen said Geschke, widely known as Chuck, “sparked the desktop publishing revolution”. “This is a huge loss for the entire Adobe community and the technology industry, for whom he has been a guide and hero for decades,” he wrote in an email to the company’s employees. “As co-founders of Adobe, Chuck and John Warnock developed ground-breaking software that has revolutionized how people create and communicate,” he said.

(Image via: Wikipedia)

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‘The New Oil’ Website is a Resource for Privacy

Andrew Orr ·

The creator of The New Oil shared his website that gives people resources on privacy. But it’s not just a list of private tools to use. Instead the goal is to give people context and explain concepts like data breaches, why strong passwords matter, encryption, and more.

Most of us are not strangers to the concept of surveillance capitalism and targeted advertising. Most of us don’t particularly care, either. After all, who wouldn’t want relevant ads for movies or products that might actually appeal to you or improve your life? The thing is, most of us don’t understand the aggressive measures these companies go to to create those marketing profiles, or the devastating effects they can have on people.

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Investigative Report Reveals the Untold Story of the SolarWinds Cyberattack

Andrew Orr ·

We have a bit more news about the SolarWinds hack this week. NPR has wrapped up an investigation and reveals the “behind-the-scenes” story.

“Imagine those Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups going into the package and just before the machine comes down and seals the package, some other thing comes in and slides a razor blade into your Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup,” he said. Instead of a razor blade, the hackers swapped the files so “the package gets sealed and it goes out the door to the store.”

TMO Deals

The Award-Winning Luminar 4 Power Bundle

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on the award-winning Luminar 4 Power Bundle. Luminar 4 is a full-feature photo editor and organizer for Mac and Windows that lets you create edited photos with a single click. This bundle also comes with the Photography Fundamentals Course tutorial from ThinkTapLearn, and four different add-ons, including Skies: Power of Nature Add-On, Sky Objects: Amazing Planets Add-On, Looks: Analog Film Add-On, and LUTs: Street Vibe LUTs. The bundle is $39.99 through our deal.

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How Anthony Hopkins Ended up Guest Starring in 'Mythic Quest - Everlight'

Charlotte Henry ·

A special episode of Mythic Quest arrived on Apple TV+ on Friday and (spoiler alert!) it features a guest appearance from Sir Anthony Hopkins. Variety has the background on how the Everlight episode was made, and how The Silence of the Lambs star ended up in it.

“Mythic Quest” is nonetheless set in the video game world and counts Ubisoft among its producers. The special episode is not devoid of an animated game sequence — and this one gets the gift of narration from Anthony Hopkins. Wanting someone with “some heft” so “right from the very beginning [of the episode] it just feels premium, like a cinematic experience,” McElhenney says, they considered such performers as Dame Judi Dench and Ian McKellan. But when Hopkins came up, it was kismet. Producer and guest star “Craig Mazin said, ‘Oh I know Anthony Hopkins’ lawyer, let’s just call him up.’ And within 20 minutes I’m talking to Anthony Hopkins,” McElhenney says. In pre-COVID times it may have been hard to get Hopkins to commit, but with the ability to work from anywhere, McElhenney hopped on the phone with him and the Oscar-winner self-recorded his role.

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Clipper Card Now Works with Apple Pay For Easier Bay Area Transit

Charlotte Henry ·

Those in the Bay Area can use Apple Pay when using any form of transit that is accessed with a Clipper card. The feature now works on BART, Muni, Caltrain, and the ferryTechCrunch reported.

As noted back in February when this was first confirmed as on the way, Clipper works with Apple’s “Express Transit” feature. That’s just a fancy way to say that you can tap to pay with the digital Clipper card without first needing to punch in your phone’s PIN or using FaceID. On certain newer iPhones, it also lets you keep using the Clipper card for a few hours after your battery has died; a wonderful thing in a pinch, but probably not something you want to rely on regularly.

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Alaskan Senate Bill Proposes Statewide Blockchain Voting System

Andrew Orr ·

Under Senate Bill 39, Wasilla Republican Sen. Mike Shower proposes using blockchain technology to support the state voting system.

Furthermore, the bill seeks to increase voter participation by allowing people to use their tribal IDs for voter identification. At the same time, the technology would help in fixing errors that would bar people from voting.

However, the bill’s first version was a center of controversy for ending automatic voter registration through the permanent fund dividend application. The new bill has eliminated the clause.

I think using tribal IDs for voting identification is great. I’m not sure if blockchain voting will make it though.

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Apple Studios in Early Discussions to Distribute Original Comedy 'Mr. Lucky' From Kandell Twins

Charlotte Henry ·

There are early discussions taking place regarding Apple Studios serving as a distribution partner for original comedy Mr. Lucky, written by Aaron and Jordan Kandell. It follows the screenwriters selling the pitch to production company ImageMovers, Variety reported.

Inspired by a true story, details are under wraps but it is described as a high concept rom-com that explores luck, and how tragedy and triumph, disaster and fortune are all in the way we choose to view them. Jack Rapke and Jackie Levine are producing for ImageMovers. The Kandells, who just signed with Range Media Partners, are the writers behind the Oscar-nominated Disney epic “Moana” and the 2018 film “Adrift,” starring Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin. They have a number of notable upcoming projects through their banner Twin Ink.

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Reddit Announces Public Bug Bounty Program

Andrew Orr ·

For the past three years Reddit has maintained a privacy bug bounty program for cybersecurity researchers with HackerOne. On Thursday the company announced a public program.

With our continued growth and visibility, we’re now ready to make the program public and expand the participation to anyone wanting to make a meaningful security impact on Reddit. As we scale the program, our priority will remain focused on protecting the privacy of our user data and identities. We know each security researcher has their own skills and perspective that they bring to the program, and we encourage anyone to submit a report that shows security impact. We’re super excited to hit this milestone and have prepared our team for what’s to come.

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Adobe Releases Global Emoji Diversity & Inclusion Report

Andrew Orr ·

On Thursday Adobe released the Global Emoji Diversity & Inclusion Report. It surveyed 7,000 emoji users from around the world on how they use diverse and inclusive emojis.

Only half of global emoji users feel their identity is adequately reflected in current emoji options. More representative emoji, inclusive of different cultures, age groups, and ethnicities, are key in helping emoji users better express themselves. This goes a lot deeper than personal identification — it helps people accurately express how they are feeling.

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U.S. House Committee Approve Big Tech Report

Charlotte Henry ·

The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee formally approved a report that accuses big tech companies, including Apple, of either buying or crushing smaller rivals, Reuters reported. The extensive document offers various options for changing antitrust law.

The more than 400-page staff report will become an official committee report, and the blueprint for legislation to rein in the market power of the likes of Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google, Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Amazon.com (AMZN.O) and Facebook (FB.O). The report was approved by a 24-17 vote that split along party lines. The companies have denied any wrongdoing. The report first released in October – the first such congressional review of the tech industry – suggested extensive changes to antitrust law and described dozens of instances where it said the companies had misused their power.

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Adding Car to HomeKit for In-App Controls and Automation

Charlotte Henry ·

Self-confessed “home automation enthusiast” Siobhán Ellis integrated an electric car into her Apple HomeKit setup. In a blogpost (spotted by MacRumors) she explained what she did and how she did it.

After I initially wrote this blog post, I wondered if there was a HomeBridge integration into the Jaguar InControl API. InControl enables a number of things, such as remotely seeing if the car is unlocked, how much it’s charged and if it is charging. It also enables pre-conditioning, which is the warming up of the car before you travel somewhere so the batteries work at peak efficiency. As it happens, there is a plugin, called Jlr Incontrol. Installation was easy, although I must say it came up with a few warnings.

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Windows 10 Now Runs on Apple Silicon M1 Macs

Charlotte Henry ·

Users who so desire now run Windows 10 on an M1 Mac. The latest version of Parallels allows the operating system to run on an Apple Silicon computer, The Verge reported.

The latest version of Parallels Desktop for Mac now allows M1 Mac owners to run Windows 10 on Arm apps or traditional x86 apps side by side with Mac or iOS apps on Big Sur. There will be some app limitations on the Windows 10 on Arm side, thanks to its own app emulation, but Windows 10 on Arm will soon support x64 app emulation, too. Parallels Desktop maker Corel says its latest update also results in some impressive performance and battery improvements over running the software on Intel-based Macs. According to Corel, the 16.5 update uses up to 250 percent less energy on an M1 Mac, compared to an Intel-based MacBook Air. There’s also a promise of up to 60 percent better DirectX 11 performance and up to 30 percent better overall virtual machine performance running the Arm version of Windows 10 on an M1 Mac instead of a Windows 10 VM on an Intel-based MacBook Pro.

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UK Tesco Shopper Orders Apples, Gets iPhone SE

Charlotte Henry ·

One happy customer in London, England ordered apples at a supermarket and came away with an iPhone SE. The Mirror reported that customer Nick James found out he’d randomly won the device when he went to pick up a ‘click and collect’ order at a Tesco Extra store.

Mr James was gobsmacked to receive a free iPhone SE in his click and collect order. He told the Mirror: “I was half expecting the surprise to be an Easter egg or something – I was a little bit shocked to say the least.” Tesco Mobile is giving away free Apple iPhones, AirPods and Samsung devices as part of a “super substitutes” promotion this week. Tweeting about his win earlier this week, he said: “A big thanks this week to Tesco and Tesco Mobile. “On Wednesday evening we went to pick up our click and collect order and had a little surprise in there – an Apple iPhone SE.

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Mac and Services to Provide AAPL Upside

Charlotte Henry ·

AAPL investors can still expect an upside when during Apple’s forthcoming earnings call thanks to Mac and services. That’s according to J.P Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee in a note seen by AppleInsider.

Lead analyst Samik Chatterjee writes that the setup heading into Q1 2021 earnings is “dramatically different than the last one,” since the focus on near-term earnings drivers has moderated after the busy holiday season. Specifically, iPhone builds are slowing down, led primarily by softening smartphone shipments in China and slowing momentum of 5G-equipped iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro sales. Relative to sell-side consensus, Chatterjee believes investors are primed for softer results. However, the analyst still expects modest upside to investor expectations. He cites strong growth in Services and the current momentum in Mac and iPad shipments as the primary driver, despite concerns that work from home trends will wear off. JP Morgan is tracking iPhone revenue in line with expectations.

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No mini in 2022 iPhone Lineup, Says Ming-Chi Kuo

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that there will be no iPhone 14 mini, in a new note seen by MacRumors. Despite its relatively poor performance, a smaller model is expected to be in the 2021 lineup.

“We predict that the new 2H22 iPhone will come in four models: the high-end 6.7″ and 6.1″, and the lower-end 6.7″ and 6.1″,” wrote Kuo. If there is no so-called iPhone 14 mini next year, the iPhone SE would regain the title of smallest iPhone with its 4.7-inch display. However, the current iPhone SE is actually slightly larger than the 5.4-inch mini model due to having thicker bezels and a Touch ID home button. The iPhone SE also has only a single-lens rear camera and is equipped with an LCD screen, whereas the iPhone 12 mini has a superior OLED display.