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How to set up computer security for your parents

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andreasc

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July 26, 2023

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How to set up computer security for your parents

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Here are some tips that you can use to set up a secure environment for your parents’ digital needs.

If you want to tighten up your parents’ home cybersecurity as much as possible, you’ve come to the right place. After all, you’re no doubt the family IT person, and first point of contact if trouble arises.

Consider a Chromebook. If someone is looking for a new computer system for regular, non-demanding purposes, such as browsing, social media, and email, you can help with recommendations. For such a person, who isn’t invested in heavy gaming, a Chromebook would be a good option, as it will save them some money and can perform all those functions, plus allows them to play browser-based games if needed.

Turn on auto-update. Installing software on a system usually comes with the task of having to keep it up-to-date. Therefore, any software program, operating system or browser that has an option to auto-update should be set to do this. We know this isn’t always recommended in a work environment, but for the computer illiterate person in their own home, it’s perfect. One less thing to worry about.

Configure their security software. In addition, selecting security software that allows users to minimize notifications to only dire warnings will keep users from getting confused. Notifications coming from programs can have strange effects on the less computer savvy for several reasons:

They don’t understand to which program the messages belong, which takes away the context for them
The text in the notifications is designed to be short, which means they’re not always maximized for clarity
Technical terms used in the notification may be unfamiliar

When there are too many notifications, people can get fatigued. Most will simply want the pop-ups to disappear, no matter what they have to click on to accomplish this. So, any software that can be set to only issue a warning when something is really amiss deserves a big plus.

Disabled Remote Desktop. If you’re dealing with a Windows computer, disable Remote Desktop. Remote Desktop is sometimes used by scammers in things like technical support scams, so if you don’t need it you may as well turn it off. You can do this in Settings. Here’s how to do it in Windows 10:

Launch the Settings app. (shortcut Win + I)
Under the System section, scroll down and click on the Remote Desktop option.
Then, click on the toggle next to the Remote Desktop option to turn it off.

screenshot of remote desktop settings

Windows will prompt you to confirm your decision.
Click on the Disable button and exit the settings app.

Use an easy to maintain blocklist or firewall. This can keep a lot of harm at bay. Alternatively, make use of security software that includes a web protection module, like Malwarebytes Premium.

Configure the router accordingly. Make sure to configure the home router and access points with unique usernames and passwords and do not use the default ones that come with the equipment. Many botnets will attempt to take over such devices by trying default credentials.

There are some other basic settings that can enhance the security of the home router without hindering the users:

Turn off remote management if enabled.
Use WPA2 or WPA3 (if available) encryption on Wireless routers.

Hang up, close the tab, and call your bank. A Dutch bank ran a very effective campaign that advised customers to “Hang up, close the tab, and call your bank.” This is very easy to remember and very effective at the same time. Tell your parents to remember that phrase when they see “urgent” warnings online or get cold calls from Microsoft, their bank, or any other entity that seeks access to personal or financial information. It’s good to teach your parents they shouldn’t trust that friendly voice with a concerned tone, if they can’t verify their identity. The same is true for text and chat messages. Even if the sender claims to be you on your new phone.

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Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep threats off your devices by downloading Malwarebytes today.

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Threads gets a ‘Following’ feed, but Meta doesn’t want you to see it

Android

andreasc

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July 26, 2023

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Threads launched to some major success, but the app is pretty bare-bones compared to its rivals. There’s a long list of things that Threads can’t do, but it will get shorter over time. Thanks to a new update, Threads just got the long-awaited Following feed, according to 9To5Google.

This is one of the main things that people have been pining for since the app made its debut. Users would join the app and follow a bunch of creators and friends only to be met with a feed of posts from celebrities and influencers. This has been a pain point for Instagram users as well.

Threads finally gets its following feed

Now, users’ prayers have been answered, as Meta released the first major update for its new platform. This update is live for both iOS and Android, so no one will feel left out. It’s a server-side update, so users will still need to wait even with the most up-to-date version of the app (version 293.0.0.30.110).

As it stands, your feed is an algorithmically-curated feed of posts. These include posts from those you follow and popular accounts. The app is feeding you what it feels that you like. However, sometimes, we just want to see posts from folks that we follow. Also, the posts aren’t in chronological order.

With the new Threads Following feed, you’ll only see posts from accounts that you follow. Also, it’s in chronological order, so you’ll always be fed posts fresh from the creators’ fingertips.

While this is a step forward for the app, it’s handled in a bit of a weird way. The new feed won’t be visible by default when you open the app. In order for you to see it, you’ll need to press the Home button. When you do this, you’ll see two tabs lower from the top of the UI.

The tab on the left will be called “For You”, and this is the default feed. The one on the right, you’ll see the Following tab. Tap on it to see the new tab. It’s weird that Meta is trying to hide this feed from its users. This makes sense, as the feeds are also hidden on Instagram.

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Twitter CEO confirms banking and payment plans for X

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andreasc

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July 26, 2023

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Twitter is in the process of reinventing itself under a new brand name. The social network that we’ve long known as Twitter is now called X. It’s a brainchild of the company’s owner Elon Musk, who wants to make it an “everything app.” His plans include offering banking and payment services along with the existing core features. Twitter’s newly-appointed CEO Linda Yaccarino briefly discussed those plans in a recent memo to employees.

According to Yaccarino, the plethora of changes that have happened on Twitter over the past nine months or so (since Musk took over the company) have had a positive impact on the platform’s usage. More people are using Twitter today than ever before. “Everyone should be proud of the pace of innovation over the last nine months — from long-form content to creator monetization and tremendous advancements in brand safety protections,” she said.

Twitter wants to enter the fintech business following the X rebrand

However, it’s just the beginning. Musk’s long-term vision for Twitter or X is much broader. As said earlier, he wants to enter the fintech business while keeping social networking at the core. The new Twitter CEO reiterated this in her memo to employees, which was seen by CNBC.

“We’ll continue to delight our entire community with new experiences in audio, video, messaging, payments, and banking — creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities,” Yaccarino said. She added that the new Twitter has “an inventor mindset,” so it will continue to test out new approaches, which may see it constantly chopping and changing things until it gets them right.

“With X, we will go even further to transform the global town square and impress the world all over again,” the Twitter CEO stated. The platform will “preserve free expression and choice” to create limitless interactivity, while simultaneously creating “a marketplace that enables the economic success of all its participants.”

“You’re writing history, and there’s no limit to our transformation,” Yaccarino encouraged Twitter employees. “Let’s go make that next big impression on the world.” Unfortunately, her memo is light in details regarding the immediate plans.

However, Musk recently said that the platform will add “comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world” in the coming months. He added that the Twitter name does not fit well in these plans, hence the re-branding. It remains to be seen how Twitter will change over the next few months. We will keep you posted with all the latest information.

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Update now! Apple fixes several serious vulnerabilities

Malware

andreasc

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July 26, 2023

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Update now! Apple fixes several serious vulnerabilities

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Apple has released security updates for several products to address several serious vulnerabilities including some actively exploited zero-days.

Apple has released security updates for several products to address several serious vulnerabilities including some actively exploited zero-days. Updates are available for these products:

The updates may already have reached you in your regular update routines, but it doesn’t hurt to check if your device is at the latest update level. If a Safari update is available for your device, you can get it by updating or upgrading macOS, iOS, or iPadOS.

How to update your iPhone or iPad.

How to update macOS on Mac.

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database lists publicly disclosed computer security flaws. Some of the notable CVEs patched in these updates are:

CVE-2023-38606: A vulnerability in the kernel that may allow an app to modify sensitive kernel state. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS released before iOS 15.7.1. The exploitation of this vulnerability took place as part of a 0-click exploit chain used to install spyware. These exploitation methods are named like that because they require no user interaction to compromise a device.

CVE-2023-32409: a vulnerability in the WebKit. A remote attacker may be able to break out of Web Content sandbox. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited. A patch for this vulnerability was issued in May for iOS 16 and iPadOS 16, but is now also available for iOS 15.7.8 and iPadOS 15.7.8.

WebKit is the engine that powers the Safari web browser on Macs as well as all browsers on iOS and iPadOS (all web browsers on iOS and iPadOS are obliged to use it). It is also the web browser engine used by Mail, App Store, and many other apps on macOS, iOS, and Linux.

CVE-2023-37450: Another WebKit vulnerability where processing web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited. This vulnerability has been covered by a Rapid Security Response (RSR) earlier because Apple was aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.

CVE-2023-32416: a vulnerability in the Find My app which could allow another app to read sensitive location information. This issue was addressed with improved restrictions.

We don’t just report on vulnerabilities—we identify them, and prioritize action.

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep vulnerabilities in tow by using Malwarebytes Vulnerability and Patch Management.

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Meta continues its hardline stance against news publishers

Android

andreasc

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July 25, 2023

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Meta has been going rounds with government bodies in recent months over the attempt to convince the company to pay news publishers for their content. Most recently Facebook’s parent company has been engaged with the Canadian government. Who back in June signed the Online News Act into law. The law would basically force Meta to pay news publishers a cut of the revenue earned from news shared on sites like Facebook and Instagram. Only prior to things being finalized, Meta said it would remove news content from its websites.

Meta then followed through on that promise in late June. Noting that news availability would be ended for all users on Facebook and Instagram prior to the Online News Act taking effect. It then later launched Threads. Where the company said it wouldn’t do anything to “encourage news” on the platform.

Now it seems Meta is taking things even further, according to a recent report from The Financial Times.

Meta snubs news publishers further by “downgrading” current affairs on Threads app

It’s worth reiterating that much of what’s going on isn’t limited to just Canada. Even if it’s the most recent country to try and stand up to Meta’s decisions to forego sharing revenue with publishers. As the Times points out, Meta pulled news from Facebook in 2021 for a brief time. It also said it would pull news from Facebook and Instagram for users in California. Following the state’s push to enact a similar law to the one in Canada.

Now The Financial Times states Meta is “downgrading” current affairs on its Threads app. Widening the gap between Meta’s relationship with Canada. The Financial Times notes that Meta’s decisions to refuse talking with Canadian regulators could cost it large sums of money. According to the report Canada made up around $3 billion of Meta’s $117 billion in annual revenue last year. And now governments across Canada are threatening to pull advertising as a response to Meta’s pushback on the law.

But Meta doesn’t seem to be budging. And its willingness to stick it out suggests the company may well take this stance with other countries.

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Google Chrome Bing AI for Windows devices is finally here

Tech

andreasc

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July 25, 2023

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Google Chrome Bing AI for Windows devices is finally here

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Google Chrome Bing AI is finally here for Windows devices, but there are a few things to keep in mind. This AI model is finally making its way to Google Chrome, thanks to the fact that Bing is available on the browser. Microsoft is now making Bing available on Chrome to give Windows 10 and 11 users of the browser more reasons to interact with the chatbot.

A few months ago, Microsoft rolled out this AI chatbot to the Edge browser. However, some users of Windows devices prefer Google Chrome to the Edge browser. This means that some people were missing out on all the Bing AI chatbot goodness.

Microsoft took note of this and is fixing the issue to bring the Bing AI chatbot to more users. By making this chatbot more accessible to users of different browsers, Microsoft can get more users to try out AI while browsing. But, despite bringing this feature to other browsers, Microsoft limits its usage, leaving some functions exclusive to the Edge browser.

Google Chrome on Windows devices gets Bing AI chatbot with some restrictions

Bringing Microsoft Edge to other browsers allows users of these browsers to use the Bing AI chatbot. Users of both Chrome and Safari browsers are now getting the opportunity to use AI tools on their browsers. However, there are some restrictions or limitations to the usage of this feature.

These restrictions are in place to give the Edge browser an upper hand. Recently, Windows 10 and 11 Chrome users are noticing a pop-up on the taskbar prompting them to try out Bing AI. Users that have tried out this feature point out that it supports dark mode.

For those that don’t like dark mode, they can switch to light mode in the hamburger settings. Some limitations include the fact that Microsoft is limiting the messages per conversation to only five entries. Also, the Bing chatbot on Chrome has a character limit of 2000 entries from the 4000 available on the Edge browser.

Another limitation of this feature is that only select users can access it at this point. Possibly, in the coming months, Microsoft will expand the usage of Bing chat on the Chrome browser to more users.

Reports also have it that Microsoft is working on improving the chatbot feature. The improvement might remove Bing chatbot’s dependency on a search engine to source replies for users. More information on the accessibility of the Bing chatbot to Chrome users and the coming improvements will be available in the coming months.

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Xbox is adding keyboard mapping to controllers

Android

andreasc

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July 25, 2023

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Xbox is adding keyboard mapping to controllers according to a new post on the company’s Xbox Wire blog. The feature changes, spotted by VideoGamesChronicle, are part of a new build of software for Xbox Insiders, but only to those on the Alpha ring.

The update preview is headed out to users but may not be immediately available to all users on the Alpha ring from today. But here’s what you can look forward to, based on the details in the patch notes.

Xbox says keyboard button mapping is coming to controllers but for the moment, it’s only for two options. This may roll out to more controllers in the future. And likely will once it’s ready for stable releases. Until that time though, you’ll be limited. If you’re an Alpha ring insider, you’ll need either an Xbox Elite Series 2 controller, or an Xbox Adaptive Controller. Only these two controllers can use the button mapping as part of this test build. It’s also important to note that the button mapping itself has some other limitations outside of controller compatibility.

Xbox keyboard button mapping for controllers supports single keys only

Keyboard button mapping is likely going to be a huge feature for players. But players also need to know how the feature works to make the most use of it.

For starters, Xbox says that keyboard mapping will support mapping a controller button to a single key. This does not include the modifier keys like alt, ctrl, win, or shift. Here’s how that looks. You can map keys like ctrl + alt + w to say, the X button on your controller. You cannot however map ctrl + alt + w + e. As the “e” adds a second key to the mix that isn’t one of the modifier keys.

This feature is also dependent on the game. The team notes that some games may have more complete support for this than others. You also can’t map keys to your controller buttons then use them via Bluetooth. As it’s not currently supported. So basically, if you want to use the feature, you have to have your controller plugged in.

Again though, keep in mind that these details may change as Xbox gets closer to releasing this as a stable feature for all users.

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Tension rises among publishers that fear AI might replace media

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andreasc

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July 25, 2023

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Tension rises among publishers that fear AI might replace media

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In recent reports, groups of publishers banded together in fear that AI might replace the media. You might be wondering why these publishers are banding together and what this act aims to achieve. Well, these publishers fear that they might be out of business due to the way AI is being integrated into the internet.

The rise of AI has brought a lot of change to various industries and how they carry out their businesses. Some of these changes are remarkable, but some are actual causes of concern to certain industries. One such industry that is now accusing fingers of AI models is the media.

Some top publishing media companies like the IAC, New York Times, News Corp., and Axel Springer might be planning to drag various AI model creators to court. The models these firms are after are the likes of the Bing AI chatbot and Google Bard. But why will anyone want to sue various AI models in court?

Reasons why the IAC and friends fear that AI might replace the media

The idea of AI replacing the media might sound funny to some people, but it’s a threat to certain publishers. Barry Diller is at the forefront of the idea of suing companies that train their models using publishers’ content. His firm, alongside other top publishing firms, could drag AI companies to court.

This possible case stems from the fact that AI models might make people not rely on published content again. Normally, if people have questions, they search the internet and a list of publications that answer the question is provided. They now have to select any publication, open it and consume the content, this action will generate some cash for the publisher.

But publishers now fear that all of that might come to an end with the integration of AI models into the internet. People can now ask these models whatever questions they have, and it’d scout the internet in search of answers. Once it finds the answer, it coins it into easy-to-understand sentences,

This act might make people not interested in accessing content that publishers post on the internet. If people rely on AI models for answers and not the in-depth research of publishers, meaning these hard workers won’t get paid. From the standpoint of these publishers, generative AI models are a threat to their business.

With more companies joining the race to roll out generative AI models, publishers are constantly at risk. To save their businesses, these professionals might drag companies that own generative AI models to court. These companies need to assure publishers that they won’t lose traffic regardless of AI integrations on the internet.

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The Google Play Games PC beta has received several improvements

Android

andreasc

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July 25, 2023

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Google Play Games for PC is still in beta and Google has recently announced some changes that improve it significantly, not the least of which is access to it for more people.

Today Google has laid out some key changes coming to the Play Games for PC beta in an official blog post. Google says these are big updates that have come about thanks to listening to and applying feedback from both users and developers around the globe. The biggest part of this is of course, the access to the Google Play Games for PC beta. Because none of the other changes really matter if you don’t have access to it in the first place.

Luckily, Google is expanding on where the beta is available, and what devices the beta is available on. So there’s now a much better chance of checking it out if you haven’t been able to so far.

Google Play Games for PC beta expands access to new countries

A little earlier this year Google had expanded the beta to a total of about 56 countries. That’s quite a lot in its own right but that number is a lot higher now as of Google’s most recent blog post. The company says the beta is now available in over 120 countries. adding more than 60 new countries to the beta. Google doesn’t mention a complete list, but says new regions are spread out across the Asia Pacific, Europe, and Latin America.

In addition to new region access, the beta also has new games. Keep in mind these are all Android games that you can play on your mobile device. But regardless a growling library of titles makes the beta a more intriguing prospect for playing games on your PC. Google says you can now play “hundreds of games” on your PC, which includes smash hit titles like Arknights, and newly added releases like Free Fire Max. Free Fire Max is only available via the beta in Malaysia and Taiwan though. Google does say it’s launching in more countries soon however.

Additionally, the beta is now available on more PCs, and you can now use keyboard remapping features to customize your control experience while playing. If you’re in the beta now, all of these changes should be live.

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OpenAI’s official ChatGPT app for Android is finally here

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andreasc

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July 25, 2023

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ChatGPT may have taken the world by storm, but until now the generative AI tool hasn’t had an official app for Android devices. When OpenAI brought its services to iOS, Android users were left waiting — but the makers of ChatGPT promised them their own version of the app. Finally, that time has arrived, as the official ChatGPT app has landed in the Google Play Store.

Although OpenAI had teased us with plans to launch an official ChatGPT app for Android, no one knew when exactly the app would hit the Play Store. Registration for the app opened up several days ago. At that point, users were able to pre-register and receive a notification when the app would be available to install. Prior to today, OpenAI’s listing for the app on the Play Store simply read “coming soon.”

The official ChatGPT app is available for download on Android devices in several countries.

But now — months after Apple users received their version of the ChatGPT app — Android users are able to download the app from the Play Store (via 9to5Google). Users can download the app for free and with the same features as its iOS counterpart. But right now the app is only available in the US, India, Bangladesh and Brazil.

Until now, the Play Store has been riddled with ChatGPT lookalikes. But this app is the real deal as it comes directly from OpenAI.

Open AI notes that the app syncs your user history across multiple devices and provides all the latest improvements from the AI makers, providing the same experience that web users get.

Once downloaded, the app — equipped with a simple and colorful UI — prompts users to sign in. At that point, a chat window appears where users can start a conversation or ask questions to the AI tool.

The AI makers plan to expand further over the next week. These are quick efforts by the company to make the official ChatGPT app publicly available.

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