A new law that passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate could ban ISPs from charging you certain fees.
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.
Articles by Andrew Orr
Apple Donates to Australian Fire Relief Efforts
Fires have been raging in Australia for the past two months. Tim Cook tweeted that Apple is donating money to the relief efforts.
New Year’s Resolution: Delete These Apps
As we near the end of a decade, much of the news lately is about privacy, like apps that track your location. For your 2020 resolution, consider deleting these apps.
And as we enter the third decade of the 21st century, apps are sure to become an ever-increasingly important part of our lives. Still, that means there are certain apps that you should probably cut out of your life for good—for the benefit of your finances, mental health, privacy, and time. As we kick off the 2020’s, here are the apps you should consider kicking off your smartphone.
The article mentions categories of apps, and not many individual apps. So here’s my advice: Delete apps from Facebook and Google.
AirPods Suppliers Want to Expand Into Vietnam
Two Chinese companies, Luxshare Precision and Goertek, are seeking funding to expand AirPods production to Vietnam.
Twitter Android Bug Matched 17M Phone Numbers to Accounts
By exploiting a bug in the Twitter Android app, security researcher Ibrahim Balic matched 17 million phone numbers to Twitter accounts.
macOS Catalina: How to Make the Cursor Bigger
Apple’s operating systems have a lot of accessibility settings, and one of them is a way to make the cursor bigger on macOS.
40 Days of Russian Darkness With iPhone Night Mode
Amos Chapple bought an iPhone 11 Pro and traveled to Russia’s Murmansk, the biggest city in the Arctic circle. From December to January the sun never rises in the city, and Mr. Chapple went there to test the iPhone Night Mode feature in a photo essay.
On the first morning I woke up in Murmansk, it really hit me what a revolution this generation of phone represents…As I walked down the corridor I remember thinking I’d just had more trouble organizing the equipment I needed to brush my teeth, than I had preparing for a 12-hour day of professional photography. No SD cards to check, no stacks of batteries to charge, no bag full of lenses… Total freedom.
These photos are gorgeous.
YouTube Calls Cryptocurrency Videos ‘Harmful Content’
In a crackdown called ‘The Crypto YouTube Carnage’ the company has been deleting cryptocurrency videos en masse, labeling them as “harmful or dangerous.”
As years’ worth of videos started disappearing from several crypto YouTubers’ channels, many began speculating about the giant’s motivations. Some believe that YouTube is sensing a rise of new, blockchain platforms that can compete for creators both by offering them better “job security” and a higher cut of earnings.
What Are the Privacy Implications of iPhone 11 Ultra Wideband?
The iPhone 11 models have a new chip called U1 to enable ultra-wideband (UWB). It allows for precise location tracking. Apple says it lets these phones have “spatial awareness” so the iPhone 11 Pro can figure out its location in relation to other U1 chips. A use-case is pointing your iPhone at another iPhone so AirDrop will prioritize that device when it comes to sharing files. But what happens when retail stores can track your chip?
Essentially, the new chip is a marketer’s dream in a box. Shops already track your purchases, leading to cases like the infamous 2012 case where Target unintentionally divulged a teen’s pregnancy to her father. When a store has UWB-enabled access points, it will be easy to monitor a phone’s location indoors and track what you considered purchasing in addition to what you actually purchase.
Russia Disconnects From Internet in Tests
Russia announced it successfully completed a series of tests that disconnected the whole country from the internet.
Pentagon Warns Military Not to Use Home DNA Kits
A Department of Defense memo warns U.S. military members about the privacy risks of home DNA kits.
The memo provides little details on how genetic profiles could endanger security, other than noting that potential “inaccuracies” in health information could pose a risk to military personnel, who are required to report medical issues. Most of the health reports provided by DNA companies typically pertain to medical risks, though, such as a predisposition to cancer, rather than diagnosing a condition.
Robocall Fines Rise to $10,000 Per Call
Congress approved a bill on Thursday that raises the fine for robocall eras up to US$10,000 per call. It’s called the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED).
Once TRACED is enacted, the Federal Communications Commission could fine robocallers up to $10,000 per call. It also would require major carriers like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile to deploy a new technology called STIR/SHAKEN into their networks, which will make it easier for consumers to know if they’re receiving a call from a spoofed number.
Speaking of spoofed numbers, the trick many robocallers use nowadays is to make it appear as if the number they’re calling from is one in your area. Different one each time, making it harder to trace.
Spotify Encourages Journalists to Plug in Random USB Drives
As part of a promotion for a podcast, Spotify sent USB drives to journalists. But the move was criticized by computer security researchers.
But anyone with basic security training under their hat — which here at TechCrunch we do — will know to never plug in a USB drive without taking some precautions first.
Plugging in random USB drives is a bigger problem than you might think. Elie Bursztein, a Google security researcher, found in his own research that about half of all people will plug into their computer random USB drives.
I doubt anyone at Spotify was clueless about the security risk. But negative publicity is still publicity.
Mac Apps Have to be Notarized by February 2020
Apple says that Mac apps distributed outside of the Mac App Store have to be notarized by February 3, 2020, an attempt to increase security.
Twitter Trolls Used Animated PNGs to Attack Epileptics
Twitter has blocked the use of animated PNGs on its platform after trolls used them to attack people with epilepsy.
Apple Offers Free Two-Day Delivery for its Products
If you live in an area with an Apple store offering courier delivery, you’re in for a treat this holiday season.
Apple Removes ‘ToTok’ App After its Reveal as Spying Tool
Apple has removed a chat app called ToTok after an investigation revealed it was a government spying tool.
EU Rules Selling Secondhand eBooks Infringes Copyright
A European court recently ruled that the unauthorized sale of secondhand eBooks infringes upon the owner’s copyrights.
“The decision is not only important for the book sector, but also for the music and film industry, because now also for music and film, downloaded copies may not be resold. The GAU / Media Federation is happy that after many years there is finally clarity about the application of copyright to e-books.
I’m not sure how you would tell the difference between a “used” eBook and new one, unless a proof of purchase was provided. But it’s unfortunate to me that, unlike physical goods, you can’t sell used digital goods.
NYT Reporters Used a Leaked Location Database to Track the President
I don’t think it’s hyperbole to call this piece “explosive”, “stunning” et cetera. Reporters at the New York Times found a database of location data containing “50 billion location pings from the phones of more than 12 million Americans.” These Americans included two Secret Service agents (and by extension the President), a Department of Defense official, CIA agents leaving for home, and much more. The article is a nightmare to browse because it’s one of their interactive ones, but it’s still worth the read.
The data reviewed by Times Opinion didn’t come from a telecom or giant tech company, nor did it come from a governmental surveillance operation. It originated from a location data company, one of dozens quietly collecting precise movements using software slipped onto mobile phone apps.
2013-2014 Macs No Longer Eligible for Free Screen Repairs
Some MacBook models from 2013-2014 suffered delamination with their anti-reflective screen coating. They are no longer eligible for free repair.
Lawyers Will Get Most of Your $125 Equifax Settlement
Remember when you signed up to get a US$125 Equifax settlement after its 2017 data breach? Lawyers will get most of it.
Notes, Photos, and Reminders Now Appear on Mobile iCloud.com
Now that you can log onto iCloud.com via an iOS device, you can access some apps, like Apple Notes, Reminders, Photos, and Find My.
FCC Determines iPhone Radiation Doesn’t Exceed Safety Levels
The FCC has concluded that iPhone radiation levels are within safety limits, as opposed to a test run by The Chicago Tribune.
267 Million Facebook IDs, Phone Numbers Exposed
A database that contained over 267 million Facebook user IDs, phone numbers, and IDs was discovered on the web. It wasn’t password-protected.
Comparitech partnered with security researcher Bob Diachenko to uncover the Elasticsearch cluster. Diachenko believes the trove of data is most likely the result of an illegal scraping operation or Facebook API abuse by criminals in Vietnam, according to the evidence.
Diachenko immediately notified the internet service provider managing the IP address of the server so that access could be removed. However, Diachenko says the data was also posted to a hacker forum as a download.