Enter our new international giveaway for a chance to win the brand new iPhone 16 Pro.
Mastercard Moves to Phase Out Use of Magnetic Stripe by 2024
Mastercard announced on Monday a plan to phase out usage of magnetic stripes on its cards, and says it is the first payments network to do so.
Based on the decline in payments powered by magnetic stripes after chip-based payments took hold, newly-issued Mastercard credit and debit cards will not be required to have a stripe starting in 2024 in most markets. By 2033, no Mastercard credit and debit cards will have magnetic stripes, which leaves a long runway for the remaining partners who still rely on the technology to phase in chip card processing.
Twitter Hires Crypto Developer for Decentralized Network Project
Twitter has hired crypto developer Jay Graber to lead its efforts to build a decentralized social network, dubbed “bluesky.”
Get Free Bitcoins from 23 Faucets That Pay
Bryan Chaffin explains how Bitcoin faucets work and which faucets you can trust to pay. [Update: reformatted the guide, removed several defunct faucets, updated all descriptions, and added some new earning opportunities, too. – Bryan]
US Government Still Wants an iOS Backdoor
Some thought efforts to force an iOS backdoor were over. In fact, Cupertino may have won the battle in 2016, but the war wages on. Jeff Butts outlines the latest stalled efforts, and how they are probably just a setback for the government.
GitHub No Longer Accepts Passwords, Use Security Keys Instead
GitHub will no longer accept passwords when authenticating Git operations and will require the use of strong authentication factors. Yubico also posted about the announcement here, and its 2FA hardware keys are an acceptable solution for GitHub users.
In December, we announced that beginning August 13, 2021, GitHub will no longer accept account passwords when authenticating Git operations and will require the use of strong authentication factors, such as a personal access token, SSH keys (for developers), or an OAuth or GitHub App installation token (for integrators) for all authenticated Git operations on GitHub.com. With the August 13 sunset date behind us, we no longer accept password authentication for Git operations.
Thousands of Wikipedia Pages Vandalized With Swastikas
On Monday morning thousands of Wikipedia pages were vandalized with swastikas. The vandalism was reversed and admins are fixing the issue.
Smart Matter and Thread – TMO Daily Observations 2021-08-16
Andrew Orr and Jeff Butts join host Kelly Guimont to discuss a smart home delay, and what options you have today if you are setting up something new.
Pearson Settles With SEC, Pays $1 Million Fine Over Data Breach
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced a settlement with Pearson, a company that provides software to schools, which will pay US$1 million.
Samsung's New OLED Display Is Just What the iPhone Needs
Let’s take a minute to talk OLED display technology, and how Samsung’s hit all the marks. The latest Eco Square is perfect for the iPhone.
Dashlane Password Manager Releases Mac Catalyst App
Dashlane announced on Monday that its Mac app now supports Catalyst, and says it is the first password manager in the Mac App Store to do so.
Travel Tips, Wi-Fi Troubleshooting, and Dave Got Caught! — Mac Geek Gab 885
It’s always interesting when multiple listeners have the same problem, and today you can listen as John and Dave dig into issues with Mac minis and restarting. We think your two favorite geeks have the answer! And that’s what happens here, you ask questions, we provide answers… and Quick Tips… and Cool Stuff Found, too! Press play and enjoy learning at least five new things!
Apple's Mass Turnover in iCloud, Health, AI Teams
Quite a few big names are leaving Apple. This recent mass turnover from Cupertino’s Health, iCloud, and AI teams could be a result of Apple’s controversial back-to-the-office policy, or simply a reflection of the times in tech careers.
(Update) T-Mobile Customer Data for Sale Affecting Over 100 Million People
A person in an online forum is offering data for sale that they claim comes from T-Mobile servers. The carrier says it is investigating the accuracy of this alleged breach.
The data includes social security numbers, phone numbers, names, physical addresses, unique IMEI numbers, and driver licenses information, the seller said. Motherboard has seen samples of the data, and confirmed they contained accurate information on T-Mobile customers.
Update: T-Mobile has issued a statement confirming the breach.
Apple, You Broke Your Privacy Promises and Our Hearts
John sees Apple reversing its commitment to privacy, which he feels has broken the hearts of many apple fans, including his own.
Mac Gaming, Crypto Credit Cards, iOS 15, with Jeff Butts - ACM 553
Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Butts talk about the current state of Mac gaming, with Jeff focusing on improved Mac support at Steam. They also dive deeper into crypto credit cards where you can either spend your crypto and/or earn cryptocurrency rewards like Bitcoin on your purchases. And, Jeff has been deep into iOS 15 betas, and he talks about some of his favorite new features.
A Tour of The New Apple Online Retail Store
Apple recently added a new ‘Store’ tab to its website and redesigned its online retail offering. Charlotte Henry gives you a quick guided tour through the changes, how it makes shopping easier, and how it could even save you money.
Blockchain Project ‘Polygon’ Acquires Hermez, Native Tokens to Merge
Polygon has announced its acquisition of Hermez Network, a ZK-Rollups-based Ethereum scaling solution, for US$250 million.
Smart Home Connectivity Standard ‘Matter’ Delayed to 2022
Matter, a connection standard for smart home devices backed by Apple, Amazon, Google, and others, has delayed its rollout until 2022.
Facebook Adds End-To-End Encryption to Messenger Calls, Instagram DMs
Facebook has begun rolling out end-to-end encryption for Messenger calls and Instagram DMs, bringing greater security and privacy to users.
Reddit Adds Video Feed Button to its iOS App to Highlight User Videos
Reddit is rolling out a video feed button in its iOS app to let users view video content in a TikTok-like feed.
Children of Deaf Adults And Their Families React to Apple TV+ Movie 'CODA'
There was a special screening of the movie CODA for some Children of Deaf Adults and their parents. A new video shows their reactions, and why they consider it an important film. It’s now available on Apple TV+ and in select theaters.
Security Friday: Vax Records, Actually Clearing Cookies – TMO Daily Observations 2021-08-13
Andrew Orr and Dave Hamilton join host Kelly Guimont for Security Friday news including ways to store vaccine info, and truly clearing browser history.
Add a Free COVID-19 Vaccine Passport to Apple Wallet Using VaxYes
Congratulations on being fully vaccinated against COVID-19! Now? Well, you can take a photo of your record or scan it into Files/Apple Notes. And with a service called VaxYes from gogetdoc you can add it to Apple Wallet for greater convenience. You’ll have to give them a picture of your vaccine card as well as a photo of your ID. The company uses AES-256 encryption (referred to as “military grade”) and is fully compliant with HIPAA. Gogetdoc has HIPAA-trained quality control agents and medical staff to ensure appropriate details are collected for verification of the record before issuing a digital vaccine card. Tap on “Get a Free Vaccine Passport” and follow the onscreen instructions. I did it and the process to get the Wallet passport took about 60 seconds. If you live in the UK you can get a passport with this article.
UK Regulator May Force Facebook to Sell Giphy
UK regulator the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said that Facebook may have to sell Giphy. The social media giant rejected the preliminary findings, BBC News reported.
The Competition and Markets Authority provisionally found Facebook owning Giphy “could lead it to deny other platforms access to its Gifs”. The CMA will now consult before making a final conclusion. And if its concerns are confirmed, the [sic] it may require Facebook to sell Giphy. Facebook said the findings were “not supported by the evidence”. Giphy’s vast library of looping short video animations is hugely popular – including among Facebook’s competitors.