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Avira Antivirus Crypto Miner is Also a Thing, Following Norton

Andrew Orr ·

Following Norton, Avira Antivirus crypto miner is also a thing now, as the company is owned by NortonLifeLock.

Not only does Norton press gang your system into mining Etherium [sic], they take a 15% cut off the top for doing so, though at least they let you keep the rest; whether you know it or not. The problem is that antivirus programs are supposed to prevent you from unwittingly mining cryptcoin for others, not actively recruit you for it. This might not seem bad at first glance, as they give you a dashboard which shows just how much money you could theoretically get if you cashed in the Etherium [sic] them made you mind.

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T-Mobile Blocks iCloud Private Relay for Customers in United States

Andrew Orr ·

It appears that carriers in the U.S. and aboard aren’t happy with iCloud Private Relay. The setting, released with iOS 15, likely interferes with surveillance of customers. A report from 9To5Mac says that T-Mobile has begun blocking the feature.

The change does not appear to be network-wide just yet, but rather it appears T-Mobile is in the process of rolling it out. This means that some users might still be able to use iCloud Private Relay when connected to their cellular network – at least for now.

Very shady behavior. I haven’t been using Private Relay because it overrides my DNS. The good news is that carriers can’t prevent you from changing your DNS settings.

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Cheech & Chong Launch NFT Collection Dubbed 'Homies in Dreamland'

Andrew Orr ·

This is a bit of old news but I hadn’t seen it until today. Cheech & Chong are launching a brand for collectibles called My Homies. The first series will be an NFT collection called Homies in Dreamland.

The “Homies in Dreamland” collection will release January of 2022. The holders of the NFT art collectible will gain access to a variety of utility, including future airdrops and special access/utility tokens randomly inserted throughout the collection. To-be-announced benefits will be attached to the tokens like merchandise, autographed items, and airdrops of art by Billy Perkins, who has a long-time association with Cheech and Chong.

Podcast

Learning From Distractions — Mac Geek Gab 909

Dave Hamilton & John F. Braun · · Add Comment

Everything’s distracting, especially to many of us geeks. That’s ok, though. Listen as John and Dave plow through their distractions to ensure everyone learns at least five new things. Your two favorite geeks troubleshoot AirPods, AirTags, Multitouch, and slow SSDs. They also share Cool Stuff Found from CES and beyond with products from JBL, Shokz, Pozio, Plugable, and more! Press play and enjoy.

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Swiss Army Seeks Private Messenger 'Threema' Over WhatsApp

Andrew Orr ·

Switzerland’s army told its soldiers not to use foreign messengers such as WhatsApp, due to privacy concerns. Instead, the recommendation is to use private messenger Threema, a Swiss app.

Army spokeswoman Delphine Schwab-Allemand, in an e-mail on Wednesday confirming reports on the issue in Swiss media, seemed to soften the army’s position, saying that there was a “recommendation” that troops use Threema. It took effect on Jan. 1. She added that the army cannot and does not want to tell troops to use a particular app on their private devices.

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Twitter Reaction Videos Being Tested With Retweets on Platform

Andrew Orr ·

TechCrunch reports that Twitter reaction videos are being tested as a new way to engage with the platform.

Twitter says it’s only running the test with a small subset of iOS users for now and will monitor feedback from the group to see how the feature goes. The company says it wants to give users “more creative ways to express themselves” which tracks with its generally experimental vibe lately.

I get that companies need to compete with each other but not everything has to copy TikTok.

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How Apple Books+ Could Boost The Bundle

Charlotte Henry ·

Earlier this week there was speculation about Apple launching an audiobooks service. Joe Wituschek of iMore is positive about the prospect and outlines how it could enhance the Apple One bundle.

The great thing about Apple Books+, if it does come to fruition, is that Apple could do something even better than Amazon: it could bring both businesses together. Right now, Kindle and Audible are two separate products that, while they do work together in certain ways, are confusing as to what you get with each. Apple could offer both books and audiobooks under its subscription service, making pricing and what you get out of it much clearer. While it’s unclear how pricing would shake out, having everything under one roof alone would be a great way to differentiate itself from its competitors.