Tech

SpaceX to keep Starlink pricing simple, exit beta when network is “reliable”

Enlarge / SpaceX Starlink logo. (credit: Getty Images | SOPA Images ) The Starlink broadband network will probably stick with one price instead of offering different tiers of service, SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell said yesterday. “I don’t think we’re going to do tiered pricing to consumers. We’re going to try to keep it […]

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Russia’s Twitter throttling may give censors never-before-seen capabilities

Enlarge / What’s happened to Russia’s flag? (credit: Sean Gladwell / Getty Images) Russia has implemented a novel censorship method in an ongoing effort to silence Twitter. Instead of outright blocking the social media site, the country is using previously unseen techniques to slow traffic to a crawl and in the process make the site […]

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Yahoo Answers to end as Trump fans see plot to “silence conservatives”

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Thomas Hertwig | EyeEm) Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4, 2021, the Verizon-owned Yahoo announced this week. The 16-year-old question-and-answer service will enter read-only mode on April 20, preventing users from posting new questions or answering other users’ questions, Yahoo said. On the May 4 shutdown date, the […]

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Activision warns of malware masquerading as cheats for Call of Duty: Warzone

Enlarge (credit: CHUYN / Getty Images) Criminals have been hiding malware inside publicly available software that purports to be a cheat for Activision’s Call of Duty: Warzone, researchers with the game maker warned earlier this week. Cheats are programs that tamper with in-game events or player interactions so that users gain an unfair advantage over […]

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Feds say hackers are likely exploiting critical Fortinet VPN vulnerabilities

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said that advanced hackers are likely exploiting critical vulnerabilities in the Fortinet FortiOS VPN in an attempt to plant a beachhead to breach medium and large-sized businesses in later attacks. “APT actors may use these vulnerabilities or other common exploitation techniques to […]

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Feds say man broke into public water system and shut down safety processes

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Federal prosecutors have indicted a Kansas man for allegedly logging into a computer system at a public water system and tampering with the process for cleaning and disinfecting customers’ drinking water. An indictment filed in US District Court for the District of Kansas said Wyatt A. Travnichek, 22, of Ellsworth County, […]

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North Korean hackers return, target infosec researchers in new operation

Enlarge In January, Google and Microsoft outed what they said was North Korean government-sponsored hackers targeting security researchers. The hackers spent weeks using fake Twitter profiles—purportedly belonging to vulnerability researchers—before unleashing an Internet Explorer zero-day and a malicious Visual Studio Project, both of which installed custom malware. Now, the same hackers are back, a Google […]

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Ubiquiti breach puts countless cloud-based devices at risk of takeover

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Network devices-maker Ubiquiti has been covering up the severity of a data breach that puts customers’ hardware at risk of unauthorized access, KrebsOnSecurity has reported, citing an unnamed whistleblower inside the company. In January, the maker of routers, Internet-connected cameras, and other networked devices, disclosed what it said was “unauthorized access […]

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How to achieve Smart Home nirvana (or, home automation without subscription)

What comes to mind when you think of a Smart Home? Wi-Fi enabled light bulbs, video doorbells, cloud-connected robot vacuums, or smart fridges perhaps? Brands like Google/Nest or everything enabled with Amazon’s Alexa? While often providing some genuine convenience, these devices are also usually designed to invite and lock users into manufacturers’ ecosystems. Create a […]

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Android sends 20x more data to Google than iOS sends to Apple, study says

Enlarge / Insomnia people and mobile-addiction concepts. (credit: Getty Images) Whether you have an iPhone or an Android device, it’s continuously sending data including your location, phone number, and local network details to Apple or Google. Now, a researcher has provided a side-by-side comparison that suggests that, while both iOS and Android collect handset data […]