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Leaks Reveal Google Pay Card as Rival to Apple Card

Andrew Orr ·

Leaked images of a Google Pay Card reveal that Google is busy creating a rival to Apple Card. There will also be an associated virtual card with it.

The Google card and associated checking account will allow users to buy things with a card, mobile phone or online. It connects to a Google app with new features that let users easily monitor purchases, check their balance or lock their account. The card will be co-branded with different bank partners, including CITI and Stanford Federal Credit Union.

I remember getting a card associated with my Google Pay account back in 2015 or so. They released it long before the Apple Card, but like many Google products it eventually got canceled.

Cool Stuff Found

First Look at Apple TV+ Series ‘Defending Jacob’

Andrew Orr ·

Apple uploaded a trailer for its upcoming Apple TV+ show Defending Jacob, giving us the first glimpse into this thriller.

In this gripping, character-driven thriller, a shocking crime rocks a small Massachusetts town and one family in particular, forcing an assistant district attorney to choose between his sworn duty to uphold justice and his unconditional love for his son.

Based on the 2012 New York Times best-selling novel of the same name, this limited drama series stars Chris Evans, Michelle Dockery, Jaeden Martell, Cherry Jones, Pablo Schreiber, Sakina Jaffrey, Betty Gabriel, and J.K. Simmons.

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Google Blocking 18m Coronavirus Scam Emails a Day

Charlotte Henry ·

There has been a deluge of attempted phishing attacks during the coronavirus outbreak. BBC News reported that Google is now blocking 18m coronavirus-related scam emails on a daily basis.

The company said it was blocking more than 100 million phishing emails a day. Over the past week, almost a fifth were scam emails related to coronavirus. The virus may now be the biggest phishing topic ever, tech firms say. Google’s Gmail is used by 1.5 billion people. One of the scam emails impersonates the World Health Organization Individuals are being sent a huge variety of emails which impersonate authorities, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), in an effort to persuade victims to download software or donate to bogus causes.

TMO Deals

HideMyAss VPN 2-Yr Subscription: $79.99

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on a 2-year subscription to HideMyAss, a VPN featuring 256-bit AES encryption and a strict no logging policy. The subscription is good for unlimited installs with up to 5 connections at once, and 2-years is $79.99 through our deal.

InvisibleShield and Gear4 Announce iPhone SE Screen Protectors
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InvisibleShield and Gear4 Announce iPhone SE Screen Protectors

Andrew Orr ·

InvisibleShield and Gear4 have released cases and iPhone SE screen protectors. The InvisibleShield Glass Elite VisionGuard+, Glass Elite+ and Glass+ provide customers with tempered glass protection for extreme impact and scratch protection. Meanwhile, Gear4 is manufacturing antimicrobial iPhone SE cases with D3O reinforced backplate and others made with recycled materials.

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Google Fi Customers Can Use iPhone eSIM

Andrew Orr ·

Google watchers have noticed that Google Fi customers can use the iPhone’s eSIM, although Google says this feature is in the process of rolling out.

A modern Apple device is required — XR, XS, XS Max, and 11 series, while this simplified iOS eSIM activation is currently only available to “new users who sign up for Google Fi.” The just-announced iPhone SE should also support eSIM, according to tech specs for the device.

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Change Your Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Password Now

Andrew Orr ·

Linksys Smart Wi-Fi customers are being asked to change their passwords after hackers hijacked some accounts and changed router settings to direct users to malware sites.

The company decided to lock accounts and prompt a password reset because it couldn’t detect which accounts were hacked and which were not, and decided to act on all.

“Linksys is doing everything we can to make it tougher for the bad guys. But there are no guarantees,” Linksys said.

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The Second Beta of macOS 10.15.5 is Available

Charlotte Henry ·

The second beta of macOS 10.5.5 has been released. AppleInsider took a look at the new Battery Health Management feature.

Apple has made privacy a tentpole of this new Battery Health Management feature. The company says that all charging data is kept on-device unless the user opts-in to sharing anonymous analytics data with Apple. Finally, Apple is enabling the Battery Health Management feature by default, but users can turn it off by unchecking a new Battery Health Management box in System Preferences, under the Energy Saver category. This is similar to the Battery Heath features that have come to the iPhone over the last two years. On the iPhone, Apple allows users to manage their Battery Health and capacity, and disable performance throttling caused by reduced battery capacity. iOS 13 also quietly added a new Optimized Battery Charging feature, which aims to extend the lifespan of your iPhone’s battery to reduce how often the battery stays at 100% charge.

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Facebook Scales Back Libra, Ties it to Fiat Currency

Andrew Orr ·

Facebook is scaling back its cryptocurrency project ‘Libra.’ Instead of trying to become the dominant global financial system, its new goals are less ambitious. Instead it will work as a layer on top of traditional fiat currency, much like Apple Pay.

The Libra Association said it had begun the process of getting regulatory approval for the payment network from the Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority. To ensure that authorities around the world are on board, the Swiss agency is working with a “college” of regulators from over 20 countries. The association said it still aimed to bring the system live this year.

A good move by Facebook, in part because there was always going to be strong opposition to Libra. You might work with the government in some aspects, but you don’t mess with its money. And ultimately it’s still a way to compete with the likes of PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay.c

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Apple And Google Clash With NHS Over COVID-19 App

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple and Google appear to be in a standoff with the UK’s National Health Service over the development of a COVID-19 contact tracing app. The Guardian reported that the firms’ desire to protect user privacy is as odds with proposals for the NHS’s app which aims to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Apple and Google are encouraging health services worldwide to build contact-tracing apps that operate in a decentralised way, allowing individuals to know when they’ve been in contact with an infected person but preventing governments from using that data to build a picture of population movements in aggregate. Their policies, unveiled last week, mean that if the NHS goes ahead with its original plans, its app would face severe limitations on how it operates. The app would not work if the phone’s screen is turned off or if an app other than the contact-tracing app is being used at the same time. It would require the screen to be active all the time, rapidly running down battery life, and would leave users’ personal data at risk if their phone was lost or stolen while the app was in use.

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Eric Schmidt Says Coronavirus Should Make You Grateful For Big Tech

Andrew Orr ·

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt believes that the coronavirus should make everyone “a little bit grateful” for Big Tech, and direct their anger at the government instead.

The benefit of these corporations — which we love to malign — in terms of the ability to communicate … the ability to get information, is profound — and I hope people will remember that when this thing is finally over. So let’s be a little bit grateful that these companies got the capital, did the investment, built the tools that we’re using now and have really helped us out. Imagine having the same reality of this pandemic without these tools.

Of course, as Mr. Schmidt undoubtedly knows, reality is never black and white. We can be grateful to Big Tech while also keeping them and their policies in check. The internet is certainly an essential service, and this pandemic is an argument for making the internet a public utility.